Perdue Recalls 3 Frozen Chicken Products For Metal Fragments

A major recall has just been issued for one of the biggest names in the United States chicken industry, as multiple Perdue chicken products have been found to contain fragments of metal. On August 16, Perdue Foods, along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, put out an announcement that 167,171 pounds of frozen chicken products were being voluntarily recalled due to "foreign material" in the food. Jeff Shaw, senior vice president of food safety and quality for Perdue, described the material as, "A very thin strand of metal wire that was inadvertently introduced into the manufacturing process." The issue came to the company's attention after customer complaints. The USDA recall is listed as a Class I, the most serious, where there is considered to be a reasonable risk of health issues if the foreign object is consumed. Perdue says it has issued the recall "out of an abundance of caution."

The recall is affecting three Perdue products, all of which are sold frozen and have a "Best If Used By" date of 03/23/2025. The first is Perdue Simply Smart Organic Gluten Free Breaded Chicken Breast Nuggets, which has a UPC bar code of 0-72745-80656-8. The second product is Perdue Breaded Chicken Breast Tenders with a UPC of 0-72745-80431-1. And the last is the Butcher Box Organic Free Fully Frozen-Cooked Breast Chicken Nuggets with 0-72745-80648-3 as the UPC.

So far, no injuries or illnesses have been reported with the contamination. However, the products were shipped nationwide and were also available online for purchase, so Perdue and the USDA are asking customers to be extra cautious. All of the products should be thrown away or returned to the store. Customers may also contact Perdue Foods directly at 866-866-3703 for a full refund. There is particular concern that anyone who purchased the chicken nuggets or tenders may still have them in their freezer and may not realize that they are part of the recall. In addition to the names and best by dates, the USDA has files online with images of the at-risk products and visual guides to the labels so that you can check your food.

This is another major recall right on the back of Boar's Head recalling millions of pounds of deli meat over listeria concerns. And this is unfortunately the second time in the past year that a major chicken company had to issue a recall over metal in chicken nuggets. Late in 2023, Tyson found metal pieces in its "Chicken Fun Nuggets," triggering a recall of 30,000 pounds. If you find any foreign material yourself in a product, you can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-674-6854 or use the online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System, which is available 24 hours a day.