Sanderson Farms Begins Recall Of Half A Million Pounds Of Chicken – Products May Have Metal Fragments Lodged In Them

Sanderson Farms has announced the voluntary recall of more than half a million pounds of raw chicken products. The products may contain metal fragments.

While reports about the exact quantity of the recall vary, Sanderson Farms acknowledged that some of the products may have been contaminated with metal shavings. An internal investigation is expected, but the company seems to have zeroed in on the cause. Apparently, a malfunctioning ice-making machine somewhere along the production line may have been randomly adding metal shavings to the chicken, resulting in the recall, reported Consumerist.

A processing plant that sources chicken from Sanderson Farms alerted the company about the presence of foreign material. Thereafter, samples of the products analyzed by customers and the USDA corroborated the fact. As a precautionary measure, the company is recalling the entire lot suspected to have been exposed to the faulty ice-making machine, which amounts to more than 550,000 pounds.

Fortunately, end-customers or buyers that intend to cook the products are completely safe, since the products that are being recalled were not shipped to grocery stores or packed directly for consumers, reported Yahoo. This virtually eliminates the risk of finding tiny metal specks in your next meal. The products that are subject to recall were shipped only to three customers. Moreover, these buyers use the chicken products for additional processing into further processed chicken products, and they have been duly informed, the company announced in a press release.

“The products bear the establishment number ‘EST. P-247’ inside the USDA mark of inspection, and were shipped to processing facilities in Georgia and Louisiana. The Company has identified all of the products and notified its customers to place the products on hold, return them to the Company and further execute the recall of these products.”

Incidentally, the chicken products that are being recalled were processed at the company’s Hazlehurst, Mississippi, plant on September 17 and 18, 2015. Although there have been no reports of injuries, the U.S. Food Safety & Inspection Service has cautioned those who may end up buying the products not to consume them and to return them to the place of purchase or throw them away. Additionally, Sanderson Farms has a dedicated number at 1-800-844-4030, in case anyone wants to know about the recall.

Sanderson Farms prepares and distributes fresh and frozen chicken, as well as prepared foods. The company is a primary supplier of ice-packed chicken products to other companies who process the chicken further to be added to their own products.

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