Over 2 Million Pounds of Chicken Recalled, May Have Possible Metal Contamination

A shocking announcement broke Thursday claiming over two million pounds of chicken was being recalled, due to the possibility that it may have been contaminated by metal. In a press release on Thursday, the United States Department of Agriculture announced, "Simmons Prepared Foods, Inc., a Gentry, Ark. establishment, is recalling approximately 2,071,397 pounds of poultry products that may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically metal, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today."

A full list of recalled products can be reviewed here.

The press release states that the tainted chicken in question, "were produced from Oct. 21, 2019, through Nov. 4, 2019." It also explained that the items were shipped to the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.

Simmons Prepared Foods, Inc. discovered the contamination, and subsequently issued the recall through the USDA. This particular recall is a Class I, which means, "This is a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death."

"There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products," the press release adds. "Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service "is concerned that some product may be frozen and in institutional freezers. Institutions that have purchased these products are urged not to serve them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase."

The recall announcement also explained that the Food Safety and Inspection Service "routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers."

The new chicken recall comes nearly one month after it was announced that Tip Top Poultry had to recall chicken products sold at stores such as Target and Trader Joe's because they may have been exposed to listeria.

"The problem was discovered when the firm notified FSIS that multiple samples of product produced by Tip Top Poultry, Inc. confirmed positive for the presence of Listeria monocytogenes after being tested in Canada," the USDA said in a Sept. 28 statement. "The firm decided to recall all cooked, diced or shredded, RTE chicken products produced from January 21, 2019 through September 24, 2019, with product codes ranging from 10000 to 19999 and 70000 to 79999. Tip Top expanded the dates and the scope of the recall out of an abundance of caution."