Tyson Recalls Chicken Fun Nuggets Following Reports Of Metal Pieces
On November 4, 2023, Tyson Foods issued a recall for nearly 30,000 pounds of its frozen, dinosaur-shaped Fun Nuggets after customers sounded the alarm about small bits of metal in their chicken patties. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the recall for "foreign matter contamination" applies to 29-ounce. bags from lots 2483BRV0207, 2483BRV0208, 2483BRV0209, and 2483BRV0210. The recalled packages have a best-by date of September 4, 2024, and the full name of the product, "Fully Cooked Fun Nuggets Breaded Shaped Chicken Patties," on the front.
Distributors in Alabama, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin received shipments of the nuggets, so customers in those states should exercise caution. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will post a list of stores that carried the recalled product when it can access that information.
Though Tyson described the pieces of metal as "small" and "pliable," one person reported "a minor oral injury" after consuming the product. The USDA states that this is a Class I recall or a "health hazard situation in which there is a reasonable probability that eating the food will cause health problems or death."
What should you do if you bought a recalled product?
According to the USDA, customers who have purchased recalled batches of Tyson's Fun Nuggets shouldn't consume the product. Instead, the nuggets should be thrown away or returned to the store for a refund. Tyson adds that customers who have purchased the nuggets should "cut the UPC and date code from the packaging, discard the product, and call or text 1-855-382-3101."
This isn't the first time that the brand has recalled chicken products due to foreign material contamination. In 2019, two customers complained of metal pieces in their frozen chicken strips, prompting Tyson to recall over 69,000 pounds of the item. That same year, 36,000 pounds of Tyson chicken nuggets became the subject of a recall because a damaged piece of production equipment left bits of rubber in the food.
For meat and poultry products, the USDA defines foreign material as "non-animal objects such as metal, rubber, glass, wood, steel and lead shot." If you find foreign material in a meat or poultry product, call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-674-6854 between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. If you find foreign material in restaurant food or in a product packaged at the store itself, call your local health department. You can find contact information for your local health department on the Center for Disease Control's website.