Aspen Foods recalls nearly 2 million pounds of frozen, stuffed chicken products
Chicago-based Aspen Foods, a division of Koch Poultry Company, issued a recall of approximately 1,978,680 pounds of frozen, raw, stuffed and breaded chicken product that may be contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis, according to USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced.
Beginning in June, FSIS was notified of a cluster of Salmonella Enteritidis illnesses. Working in conjunction with Minnesota State Departments of Health and Agriculture, FSIS determined that there is a link between the frozen, raw, stuffed and breaded chicken products from Aspen Foods and this illness cluster.
The products were produced between April 15 and July 10 with “best if used by” dates between July 14, 2016 and October 10, 2016. Products were shipped to retail locations nationwide.
FSIS continues to work with the Minnesota Departments of Health and Agriculture as well as the CDC on this investigation.
Earlier this month Maine’s Barber Foods expanded its recall of frozen, raw, stuffed chicken to cover more than 1.7 million pounds of products after FSIS also linked the products to Salmonella Enteritidis illnesses in Minnesota.
According to CDC, two outbreaks of Salmonella Enteritidis have been linked to the chicken products accounting for nine illnesses across Minnesota and Wisconsin.
While the products may appear to be ready to eat, FSIS said the chicken is, in fact, raw and needs to be fully cooked before consumption. Many of these stuffed chicken products had labels identifying them as uncooked and included cooking instructions. However, some case-patients have reported following these instructions and using a food thermometer to confirm the recommended temperature was achieved.
A full list of recalled products and details can be downloaded from FSIS.
Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!
