GROSS

4.6 Million Pounds of Chicken Recalled Over Contamination

Pilgrim's Pride is recalling 4,568,080 pounds of chicken that may contain plastic, wood, rubber, and metal.

Plastic, wood, rubber, and metal are among the ingredients in chicken products being recalled this week.

Pilgrim’s Pride, the United States’ largest chicken producer, ordered the recall of over 4.6 million pounds of its products on Tuesday after it became clear that many of them were contaminated with “extraneous materials,” as the U.S. Department of Agriculture gently put it.

The millions of pounds of chicken nuggets, patties, fritters, and other products being recalled are typically sold under the Gold Kist Farms, Pierce, and Sweet Georgia brand names.

The problem first came to the attention of the USDA when customers complained of finding plastic in bags of chicken nuggets. Then the Food Safety and Inspection Service looked into it, and found “extraneous” ingredients in other products as well.

Luckily, no injuries have been reported so far.

This is not the first time Pilgrim’s Pride has run afoul of health and safety regulations. Just last month, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the company $122,000 for accidentally releasing anhydrous ammonia, a potentially poisonous gas, at a Waco facility where workers were present.

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Nathan Place

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.