One of the largest meat manufacturers in the US has recalled more than 16 tonnes of chicken nuggets over fears they may be contaminated with rubber.
More than 7,200 bags of nuggets made by Tyson Foods have been affected by the scare, which came to light when multiple customers reported finding pieces of rubber inside the product.
Although no “adverse reactions” have been reported so far, the US Food Safety and Inspection Service has categorised the recall as Class I, meaning “reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death”.
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Tyson spokesman Worth Sparkman told CBS that the rubber came from “a piece of equipment that got pinched and made its way into the blend”, and said the company has put measures in place to prevent it from happening again.
“Normally, inspectors check for fraying rubber at the end of the day during the cleaning and sanitation procedures,” says Slate, noting that “there are no laws mandating the frequency of these inspections”.
US consumers have been urged check their freezers for the affected product, namely five-pound bags of Tyson White Meat Panko Chicken Nuggets with a best-before date of 26 November 2019. These should not be consumed, but discarded or returned to the place of purchase.
The news came one day after another large meat producer, Perdue, issued a recall for seven tonnes of chicken nuggets which had not been correctly labelled for allergens.
Last month, the same firm recalled more than 30 tonnes of nuggets which the US Department of Agriculture said had been contaminated with “extraneous materials, namely wood”, the New York Times reports.
Tyson itself recalled more than 1.4 tonnes of frozen breaded chicken last June, “triggered by concerns that the nuggets were contaminated with plastic”, the BBC reports.