Applegate Farms recalls 4,530 pounds of chicken nuggets with plastic shards

Check your freezer: Applegate Farms is recalling thousands of boxes of frozen chicken nuggets.

Perdue Farms, which produced the chicken nuggets for Applegate Farms, is recalling 4,530 pounds of nuggets on the grounds that they might contain small, solid clear bits of plastic. Applegate says that the recall will affect approximately 9,000 boxes of the brand's frozen nuggets.

“At Applegate, we’re committed to your health and wellbeing and making sure our products meet the highest standards – from the farm to your table,” Applegate President Steve Lykken said in a statement posted on the company’s website. “We’re committed to bringing your family the best products possible, and we appreciate your attention to this notice.”

No related injuries have have been reported so far. However, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has classified the notice as a Class I recall, which means there is a reasonable possibility that the  affected product could pose health consequences, in the agency's view. 

The recalled products come in an eight-ounce box that contain approximately eighteen chicken nuggets. The label reads “Applegate Naturals Chicken Nuggets” and those affected by the recall have the identification number “P-2617” inside the USDA inspection mark. Their best-before date is Sept. 27, 2016. The frozen nuggets were shipped to retail distribution centers in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, and Texas. A list of impacted sales locations has not yet been released, but when it becomes available, it will be listed at the USDA’s food recall website.

No other Applegate products have been impacted by the recall. Applegate has determined that the problem occurred in the final stages of making and processing the nuggets.

Customers who bought the affected nuggets are instructed to not consume them and either throw them away or return them to teh store. Anyone who has additional questions or concerns about the can contact Applegate Consumer Relations at 1-866-587-5858 or at help@applegate.com. They can also talk to “Karen,” the virtual representative of the Food Safety and Inspection Service branch of the USDA, via web or mobile. 

Perdue and Applegate are separately owned companies, but they share processing and co-packing facilities. The USDA requires that the plant where the recall problem occurred and the company that sells the product to be identified. In this case, the problem occurred at a Perdue plant, but Applegate sells the product.

This isn't Applegate's first recall of nuggets manufactured in a Perdue plant. In August of 2014, Applegate removed Applegate Naturals Chicken Nuggets with the best-before date February 5, 2015 from stores after some consumers complained about finding pieces of clear plastic in the product.