Fully cooked frozen chicken patty products recalled due to foreign matter
Products Recalled:
Foster farms fully cooked frozen chicken patty recalled because it contains foreign matter, which leads to product contamination. The fully cooked frozen chicken patty is produced by Foster farms (Formerville, LA).
Problem:
- The Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS) ordered an immediate recall on October 29, 2022. Approximately 148,000 pounds of chicken breast patty products that are fully cooked and frozen are recalled since they may contain hard and clear plastic pieces. The products were distributed to CostCo retail locations after being shipped to CostCo distribution centres located in Arizona, Colorado, California, Utah and Wahington.
- The firm had informed FSIS that it received complaints from consumers who stated that the fully cooked and frozen chicken patties had pieces of hard and transparent plastic embedded in them, leading to the discovery of the problem.
- According to the FSIS, the plastic pieces could be sharp and potentially injure the consumer, although there have been no confirmed cases of injury linked to the consumption of the product.
- The firm has issued a point-of-sale notice to its consumers, stating the reason for the recall and what should be done if the product has already been purchased [1].
Scientific Evidence:
- Physical hazards are often described as extraneous matter or foreign objects. They include any physical matter not typically found in food which may cause illness (including psychological trauma) or injury to an individual (Corlett 1991)—the main physical hazards of concern are their sources and injury potential.
- Plastic sources are fields, plant packaging materials, pallets, employees, machinery, bottles, jars etc. It causes choking, cuts, and infection; in severe cases, it may require surgery to remove it. Physical hazards may be added inadvertently during distribution and storage or intentionally introduced (sabotage) [2].
What Regulations Clarifies:
- Metal detectors can be used to locate ferrous and nonferrous metals in foods.
- Foreign objects, especially bone fragments, can be found through X-ray technology.
- Preventive maintenance and sanitation programs for plants and equipment are necessary.
- Proper shipping, receiving, distribution and storage procedures and packaging material handling practices (particularly those involving glass) must be evaluated for their potential to introduce hazards.
- Finally, employee education and practices must involve knowledge and prevention of introducing physical hazards [3].
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