A Texas-based food company is recalling nearly 100,000 pounds of prepared chicken meals that were sold around the country after discovering the product had a branding error that unintentionally hid an allergen.
VICS Acquisition is pulling 99,975 pounds of the products, which neglected to list eggs among the ingredients on the packaging, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Sunday.
The frozen chicken products, sold under the brand names happi foodi Bloody Mary Inspired Chicken, Southeast Grocers Brand Marsala Chicken, and Southeast Grocers Brand Mediterranean Herb Chicken, are sold around the country in Walmart stores as well as Bi-Lo, Harvey’s, and Winn-Dixie.
Consumers who bought the 1.5-pound packages of happi foodi Bloody Mary Inspired Chicken with use by dates of March 2, 2020 and April 15, 2020 are urged to return it to the store or discard it. People who have bought Southeast Grocers Brand Marsala Chicken should look for use by dates between Feb. 8, 2020 and March 3, 2020, while those with Mediterranean Herb Chicken packages should look for use by dates of Feb. 7, 2020 through March 4, 2020.
There have been no reports of illnesses or adverse reactions, according to the USDA.
The frozen chicken recall follows two major chicken nugget recalls in January. Tyson recalled 18 tons of contaminated nuggets at the end of January. Perdue Foods recalled 68,000 pounds of frozen chicken nuggets earlier in the month after consumers reported finding chunks of wood inside of the product. And Purdue was also forced to recall 16,000 pounds of Refrigerated Fun Shapes Chicken Nuggets due to misbranding an undeclared allergens.
The recall follows a series of notable food recalls in 2018. In December, the USDA recalled 29,000 pounds of Jimmy Dean Sausage. JBS Tolleson has recalled over 6,000 tons of beef since October. Cargill was forced to twice recall meats, once in August and again in September. And Kroger issued a warning in May when there was the threat of plastic contamination.
