Hormel Recalls 5 Million Pounds of Chicken Over Metal
Hormel just recalled nearly 5 million pounds of frozen chicken due to metal contamination.
Pieces of metal got into the chicken from a production conveyor belt. Multiple food service customers reported finding metal in frozen chicken breast and thigh products.
There are no confirmed injuries yet, but that's not exactly reassuring when you're talking about metal in food.
Where This Chicken Went
The chicken was not sold in grocery stores. It went to food service locations—hotels, restaurants, and institutions. HRI Commercial Food Service got shipments from February through September.
So, if you ate out somewhere and had chicken, there's a chance it came from these recalled batches.
The FSIS (Food Safety and Inspection Service) is worried product might still be sitting in restaurant and hotel freezers.
Which Products Got Recalled
Hormel Fire Braised Meats chicken products. All boneless.
13.9-lb cases: Boneless Chicken Thigh Meat (item code 65009)
13.8-lb cases: 3-oz Boneless Chicken Breast (item code 77531)
13.8-lb cases: 4-oz Boneless Chicken Breast (item code 46750)
23.8-lb cases: 5-oz Boneless Chicken Breast (item code 86206)
13.95-lb cases: Boneless Chicken Breast with Rib Meat (item code 134394)
These are commercial-size cases. Not what regular people buy at the store.
How the Metal Got There
Metal pieces broke off of a production conveyor belt and got into the chicken during processing.
This is not a small-scale problem—it was nearly 5 million pounds of chicken. That's a lot of potentially contaminated chicken that made it out the door before anyone caught it.
Multiple customers had to report finding metal before the company traced it back to the source.
What Food Service Workers Should Do
Throw affected products away immediately. FSIS wants anyone who bought these products to toss them.
If you run a restaurant, hotel, cafeteria, anywhere that serves food - check your freezer for these item codes and get rid of them.
Not Sold to Regular Consumers
Hormel said in their release: "This product is only sold to foodservice customers and cannot be purchased directly by consumers."
So don't panic about chicken sitting in your home freezer. Unless you work at a restaurant and took some home, you don't have this stuff.
But you might have eaten it if you've been to restaurants that use Hormel products.
No Injuries Reported Yet
Company says there haven't been any confirmed reports of injury from eating this chicken.
Key word: confirmed. People might have found metal, thrown the chicken away, and never reported it. Or maybe they didn't notice and nothing happened.
Still, metal in food is dangerous. It can be a choking hazard, damage teeth, or cause internal injuries if swallowed. The fact that no injuries have been confirmed doesn't mean this isn't serious.
What To Do If You Have Questions
Hormel set up a customer relations contact. Call 1-800-523-4635 or visit their website.
If you need to report an issue with meat, poultry or egg products, there's an Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System online through the USDA.
Anyone worried about injury should contact their healthcare provider immediately.
This Keeps Happening
Metal contamination recalls aren't rare. Two million pounds of pork jerky got recalled recently for the same reason - potential metal pieces.
Production equipment breaks down. Metal gets into food. Companies don't catch it until customers start complaining.
The system relies way too much on customers finding problems and reporting them. By the time a recall goes out, tons of contaminated product have already been distributed and possibly eaten.
Why This Matters
5 million pounds of chicken went to food service locations nationwide over seven months. February through September. That's a huge amount of chicken served at restaurants, hotels, schools, hospitals, wherever institutional food service operates.
Lots of people probably ate this chicken without knowing there was a recall. Most of them are fine. Some of them might have found metal and just thought it was a one-time mistake.
The recall went out October 25. Months after the last shipments in September. So, all this chicken was already out there, already being served, by the time anyone said anything publicly.
Bottom Line
Food service industry: check your freezers for Hormel Fire Braised Meats chicken products with those item codes. Throw them out.
Regular consumers: you can't buy this stuff directly, but you might have eaten it at a restaurant. If you find metal in chicken somewhere, report it.
Metal contamination from production equipment is a known problem in food manufacturing and happens more than it should. Companies need better quality control to catch this before millions of pounds get shipped out.
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