According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), raw chicken is often contaminated with harmful bacteria, such as Salmonella and Clostridium perfringens, and almost one million people become sick from eating contaminated poultry each year. Now, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued an urgent warning about a specific chicken product recall. Read on to find out what was recently recalled due to a high-risk health hazard. READ THIS NEXT: This Popular Ice Cream Has Been Recalled, FDA Warns. Just last week, the FSIS announced that 120,872 pounds of ground beef products were recalled by Lakeside Refrigerated Services due to potential contamination with E. coli o103. Items were produced between Feb. 1 and April 8, and a number were distributed to Walmart stores across the country. Consumers were advised to check their freezers and refrigerators for the recalled items, as affected brands were also sold at Whole Foods, Target, and Winn-Dixie, Midland Daily News reported. Now, distributors and consumers will want to pay attention to another announcement—this time regarding chicken products.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb Approximately 30,285 ready-to-eat (RTE) chicken breast fillets from Wayne Farms, LLC have been recalled, the FSIS announced on April 29. The recall was cited as Class I – High Risk by the agency, which is applied when the agency finds a “reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.” According to the FSIS announcement, products may be undercooked and were produced between March 1 and March 22, 2022. All recalled products were nine-pound cases of “All Natural Fire Grilled Chicken Breast.” Cases either contained eight packages of six-ounce chicken breasts, and had a use-by date of May 20, 2022, or 12 packages of four-ounce chicken breasts, and had a use-by date of June 19, 2022.
RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. The recalled chicken products were shipped to a distributor in Illinois and were then sent to restaurants, the FSIS said. And while products were not sold directly to consumers, the issue was identified when a restaurant customer complained about the RTE chicken product appearing undercooked, according to the recall notice. No adverse reactions have been reported due to the consumption of these chicken breast fillets, the FSIS stated, but anyone feeling ill should reach out to their healthcare provider. The FSIS noted concern that restaurants may have recalled products in their freezers or refrigerators. The RTE chicken breast fillets can also be identified by their establishment number, “EST.20214,” which is printed on the case. Restaurants and distributors are urged not to serve these products and instead throw them away or return them to the place of purchase. READ THIS NEXT: If You Shop at Walmart, the FDA Has an Urgent New Warning for You.