On Saturday, May 4, The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced a recall of nearly 12 million pounds of frozen, ready-to-eat Tyson Foods Inc. chicken strips after receiving complaints of “extraneous material” in the meat. Food safety officials have implemented this recall over fears of metal object contamination. This is an expansion of a recent March recall of over 69,000 pounds of chicken strips and has caused many to question the effectiveness of Tyson’s food safety procedures.
While the issue was investigated by FSIS after two consumer complaints, the 11.8 million pound recall only came after six people claimed to have found pieces of metal in their meat, while three alleged oral injuries in conjunction with metal contamination. Tyson Foods Inc. vice president of regulatory food policy, food and agriculture, Barbara Masters has promised that the company is taking action to ensure consumers safety.
“Consumers expect that the food they eat is safe. In their best interest and in an abundance of caution we’re taking quick and decisive action to expand this recall,” she said in a statement.
“We have discontinued use of the specific equipment believed to be associated with the metal fragments, and we will be installing metal-detecting X-ray machinery to replace the plant’s existing metal-detection system. We will also be using a third-party video auditing system for metal-detection verification.
“Safety is at the core of everything we do. We’re committed to producing safe, healthy food that our consumers and customers can rely on every day. It is unacceptable to Tyson Foods that any product might not meet our standards. Because of these additional consumer reports, we’ve decided to take this precautionary step to make sure that we’re meeting our own expectations and the expectation of consumers.”
Products included in the recall have establishment number “P-7221” on the back of their packaging and are stamped with use-by dates of Oct. 1, 2019 through March 7, 2020.
Specific products included in the May 4 recall:
- Tyson NAE Fully Cooked Crispy Chicken Breast Strip Fritter, 25 oz.
- Tyson NAE Fully Cooked Buffalo Chicken Breast Strip Fritter, 25 oz.
- Tyson NAE Fully Cooked Honey BBQ Chicken Breast Strip Fritter, 25 oz.
- Tyson NAE Fully Cooked Crispy Chicken Breast Strip, 40 oz.
- Tyson NAE Fully Cooked Buffalo Chicken Breast Strip, 40 oz.
- Ahold Fully Cooked Chicken Breast Strip Fritter, 25 oz.
- Kirkwood Fully Cooked Honey BBQ Chicken Breast Strip, 25 oz.
- Kirkwood Fully Cooked Buffalo Chicken Strip Fritter, 25 oz.
- Best Choice Fully Cooked Buffalo Style Chicken Strip, 25 oz.
- Food Lion Fully Cooked Buffalo Chicken Strip, 25 oz.
- Food Lion Fully Cooked Crispy Chicken Breast Strip Fritter, 25 oz.
- Giant Eagle Fully Cooked Chicken Breast Strip Fritter, 25 oz.
- Giant Value Fully Cooked Chicken Breast Strip Fritter with Rib Meat, 25 oz.
- Hannaford Fully Cooked Crispy Chicken Breast Strip Fritter, 25 oz.
- Hannaford Fully Cooked Buffalo Chicken Strip Fritter, 25 oz.
- Meijer Fully Cooked Honey BBQ Chicken Breast Strip Fritter, 25 oz.
- Meijer Fully Cooked Buffalo Chicken Breast Strip Fritter, 25 oz.
- Meijer Fully Cooked Crispy Chicken Breast Strip Fritter, 25 oz.
- Publix Fully Cooked Crispy Chicken Breast Strip, 25 oz.
- Sparetime Fully Cooked Buffalo Chicken Breast Strip, 20 lb.
- Sparetime Fully Cooked Honey BBQ Chicken Breast Strip, 20 lb.
- Sparetime Fully Cooked Buffalo Chicken Strip Fritter, 20 lb.
- Sparetime Fully Cooked Buffalo Chicken Breast Strip Fritter, 20 lb.
- Sparetime Fully Cooked Honey BBQ Chicken Breast Strip with Rib Meat, 20 lb.
- Sparetime Fully Cooked Chicken Breast Strip Fritter, 20 lb.
- Sparetime Fully Cooked Crispy Chicken Breast Strip, 20 lb.
- Sparetime Fully Cooked Buffalo Chicken Strip Fritter, 20 lb.
Items from the March 21 recall:
- Tyson Buffalo Style Chicken Strips, Fully Cooked, 25 oz.
- Tyson Crispy Chicken Strips-Chicken Breast Strip Fritters with Rib Meat, Fully Cooked, 25 oz.
- Sparetime Fully Cooked Buffalo Style Chicken Strips, Chicken Breast Strip Fritters with Rib Meat & Sauce, 20 lb.
Tyson urges people to throw away or return any products included in the recall and contact them with any questions or concerns at 866-886-8456.
Remain vigilant about food safety recalls and speak up if you find something in your food! Also, it may not be a bad idea to just avoid Tyson products for a while. Remember, eating fresh, local food is the best way to stay safe and avoid contamination.
-Susan Patterson