Several batches of chicken have been recalled due to potential salmonella contamination. KDLG’s Chase Cavanaugh has more.
Foster Farms has issued a recall on several of its raw chicken products. The company says they may have been tainted with Salmonella Heidelberg, a bacterial strain that can causer fever, bloody diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
Kim Stryker, a manager at Alaska’s Food Sanitation and Safety program, says the batches can be traced back to a 2013 report by the US Department of Agriculture.
“In 2013, the USDA issued a public health alert because there were several illnesses that had been reported, and people were reporting that they had been eating chicken. However, at the time, there was no recall that was done because they couldn’t actually associate chicken in a particular production period with the illnesses, and when I say confirmed, I mean by laboratory results.”
Ultimately, the infection was traced to three farms in California.
The affected products are branded as Foster Farms, a private label, or Sunland Chicken. The first two labels have use or freeze by dates ranging from March 16 to March 31st, while the Sunland brand have dates ranging from March 7th through 11th. All of the brands have establishment numbers of P6137, P6137A, or P7362.
Stryker says the products were sold in Alaska and recommends that people check their freezers. If they find the affected chicken, she advises them not to eat it. Additional information on the recall is available at the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation’s website, as well as Foster Farms’ consumer affairs line at 800-338-8051
UPDATE 7/16/14: Foster Farms has expanded the freeze-by dates in its recall. All brands affected include packages whose sell by/freeze by dates include August 29th-September 2nd.