Applegate, a Bridgewater, New Jersey-based supplier of natural and organic meat products, is voluntarily recalling approximately 15,306 pounds of frozen, fully cooked chicken nuggets, some of which may be contaminated with extraneous materials.
According to the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), which announced a Class II, low health risk recall alert on August 12, the product was distributed to stores in eight-ounce (227-gram) retail boxes bearing the Applegate Naturals brand name and carrying a “best before” date of 02/15/15, along with the P2617 establishment number inside the USDA mark of inspection. It was produced at a factory operated by Gainesville, Georgia, USA-headquartered Perdue Farms on February 5, 2014, and shipped nationwide. As many as 30,468 packages are potentially affected.
The problem was discovered after Applegate received consumer complaints that small pieces of clear plastic were found in packaging. Neither FSIS nor Applegate have received reports of injury or illness related to consumption of the product.
Applegate has posted a notice on its website explaining how the contamination occurred, as follows: “The raw chicken for our nuggets is stored in plastic containers prior to being put through the grinder. A piece of plastic from one of the containers became dislodged and comingled with the raw chicken. This was an isolated issue and did not impact any other products.”
The company began a voluntary market withdrawal of the chicken nuggets on August 8, four days before the USDA Class II recall classification was issued. However, as the nuggets are frozen, consumers may still have some packs in their home freezers.
Persons with questions about the recall should contact Gerry Clarkson, a consumer affairs specialist at Applegate, by telephoning 866 587-5858.
