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Tyson Foods Inc. said on Monday it was
recalling 1,150 tons of cooked chicken tenderloins and breast strips
because the products may have been under processed and could cause
food-borne illnesses.
The recall affects a wide range of
cooked chicken products that were sold to retail stores, restaurants,
military commissaries and food service vendors in the United States
and the Gulf, the Caribbean and Indonesia, the US Agriculture
Department (USDA) said in a separate statement.
Tyson said the problem was identified
by internal company inspectors after consumer complaints, but it had
not received any reports of illnesses caused by the under processed
products, which were sold under the Tyson brand and selected
customers' private labels.
All products were manufactured
between Dec. 19, 2000 and Feb. 16, 2001 at Tyson's Chicken
Quick plant in Rogers, Arkansas, which is identified by the number
``P7221'' on the packaging.
``While only a small percentage of
the total production appears to be under processed, we want to be sure
that we are in full regulatory compliance and that all our product
meets the high quality expectations of our customers,'' said John Lea,
Tyson Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.
Consumers were urged to return the
products to the point of purchase and call 1-800-233-6332 for further
questions.
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection
Service also urged consumers who ordered chicken to ask restaurants or
food service vendors if their meal contained the recalled products.
Undercooked chicken can contain
dangerous bacteria such as salmonella, which can cause nausea and
diarrhea.
The Tyson products were sold overseas
to vendors in Bahrain, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Guyana,
Indonesia, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia and St. Martin.
Last week, Gold Kist, Inc., one of
the biggest poultry processors in the United States, voluntarily
recalled about 210 tons of chicken products because of possible
pesticide contamination.
Source: The New York
Times.
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