Check Your Freezer: Perdue Announces Major Recall of Popular Chicken Products
In an alarming development, Perdue Foods has issued a recall for more than 167,000 pounds of its frozen chicken nuggets and tenders after some consumers reported finding metal wire embedded in the products.
Details of the recall
According to both Perdue and the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the recall affects select lots of three specific products: Perdue Breaded Chicken Tenders, Butcher Box Organic Chicken Breast Nuggets, and Perdue Simply Smart Organics Breaded Chicken Breast Nuggets.
FSIS and Perdue have determined that approximately 167,171 pounds (75,827 kilograms) of these products could be contaminated with a foreign material following an unspecified number of customer complaints. In an announcement made on Friday, Maryland-based Perdue stated that the material was “identified in a limited number of consumer packages.”
Perdue’s response
Jeff Shaw, Perdue’s Senior Vice President of Food Safety and Quality, provided further clarification in a prepared statement. “The company later determined the material to be a very thin strand of metal wire that was inadvertently introduced into the manufacturing process,” Shaw explained. He added that Perdue decided to recall all impacted packages “out of an abundance of caution.”
Consumer safety concerns
To date, there have been no confirmed injuries or adverse reactions linked to consuming these products, according to FSIS and Perdue. However, FSIS has expressed concern that the products may still be in consumers’ freezers.
The recalled chicken tenders and nuggets can be identified by specific product codes listed on both Perdue and FSIS online notices. All three affected products have a best-if-used-by date of March 23, 2025, and bear the establishment number “P-33944” on the back of the package. These items were sold at retailers across the nation.
What to do if you have the recalled product
Consumers who possess the recalled chicken are urged to either discard the product or return it to the place of purchase. Perdue is offering full refunds to impacted consumers, who can contact the company at 866-866-3703.
Foreign object contamination remains one of the leading reasons for food recalls in the U.S. Just last November, Tyson Foods recalled nearly 30,000 pounds (13,600 kilograms) of chicken nuggets after consumers also found metal pieces in the dinosaur-shaped products. Beyond metal, other extraneous materials such as plastic fragments, rocks, and bits of insects have also triggered recalls.
This latest recall serves as a sobering reminder of the ongoing challenges in ensuring food safety in the supply chain.
