July 22, 2011

Pilgrim's Pride recalls chicken products on listeria fears

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation is recalling some 11,240 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken products on fears of Listeria monocytogenes contamination, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Wednesday (Jul 20).

Subject to recall are: 10-lb. boxes containing two 5-lb. bags of "Sweet Georgia Brand Fully Cooked Breaded White Chicken Nuggets Shaped Patties" and 30-lb. boxes containing six 5-lb. bags of "Pilgrim's Pride Fully Cooked Grilled Chicken Breast Fillet with Rib Meat"

The "Chicken Nugget Shaped Patties" has a date code of 11471010 ink-jetted on the box, and bears the establishment number "P-7091A" inside the USDA mark of inspection. Each 5-lb bag is marked with the date code and "P-7091A." Pilgrim's made the products on May 27 and shipped them to distribution centres in New Jersey and Texas for further distribution to food service institutions.

The "Grilled Chicken Breast Fillet with Rib Meat" has a date code of 11801050 and a Use-By Date of December 26, 2011, ink-jetted on the box, and bears the establishment number "P-20728" inside the USDA mark of inspection. The inner bags are marked with the code date and "Use By Date". Pilgrim's produced these items on June 29 and shipped them to a distribution centre in Ohio for further distribution to food service institutions.

FSIS discovered the problem as a result of on-site internal testing at Pilgrim's Mount Pleasant and Waco, Texas, plants. FSIS and Pilgrim's have received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of these products.