Dive Brief:
- Wayne Farms LLC recalled 12,610 pounds of its ready-to-eat chicken products due to a processing defect, reported the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service, according to Meat + Poultry.
- The recall mentioned that bacterial pathogens may be in the products, though no confirmed reports of illness or injury have been reported.
- The products include cases of two clear plastic 5-pound bags of “Waffle Breaded Bites: Fully Cooked Breaded White Meat Chicken Bites” and were packaged on Dec. 1, 13 and 30.
Dive Insight:
The recalled Wayne Farms chicken bites were shipped to Food Lion stores in Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
The products, which are labeled and advertised as pre-cooked and ready to heat and serve, may not have been fully cooked. Food scientists say undercooked poultry can harbor bacteria that can lead to gastrointestinal illness — bad news for the families that ate the now recalled chicken product.
This is an issue that has been unfortunately plaguing the ready-to-eat industry for a while. In December, National Steak and Poultry issued a recall of more than 1.9 million pounds of its ready-to-eat chicken products because of potential undercooking. Consumer demand for convenience has continued to fuel the growth of the RTE meal and snack segment and shows no sign of slowing down. It's up to food manufacturers — especially producers of meat-based products — to ensure that there are adequate checks along their supply chain to ensure the safety of the foods they produce.
Manufacturers looking to avoid similar problems should up their safety requirements and add company checklists to ensure that safeguards are in place.