It's only the third week of 2019, and the stomach-turning food recalls are already in full swing. While 2018 was, without a doubt, ~the year~ for gross food recalls — romaine, beef, eggs, and many more foods were tainted with diarrhea-causing germs — it seems like 2019 is on track to be a strong contender.
Perdue Foods is recalling approximately 68,244 ponds of gluten-free chicken nuggets that "may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically wood," the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Thursday. The recall comes on the heels of three complaints made to the FSIS by consumers who found bits of wood in the gluten-free nuggets.
I'm not entirely sure what's inside most chicken nuggets, but I do know that wood is definitely not supposed to be in there, even if it is gluten free and organic.
The product in question is Perdue SimplySmart Organics Breaded Chicken Nuggets, Gluten Free, which you'd find in the frozen food aisle. The ready-to-eat nuggets come in 22-ounce bags, and the recalled ones would have a best-by date of "10/25/19" and the UPC Bar Code “72745-80656” on the label, as well as the establishment number “P-33944” inside the USDA mark of inspection, according to FSIS.
The USDA is concerned about people who may have bags of the nuggets in their freezers, and is asking all consumers who have the product to toss it or return it to the place of purchase.
There haven't been any reports of adverse reactions from people who ate the chicken nuggets containing wood, but the FSIS is urging anyone who is concerned about illness or injury to contact a health care provider.
Fortunately, there are plenty of other wood-free chicken nuggets to choose from at the grocery store or fast food drive-thru if you need your fix. So nugget-lovers can rejoice — one recall doesn't have to ruin your favorite childhood food, even if it is kind of gross and mysterious how nuggets are made.
We'll leave you with this video of chef Jamie Oliver trying, and failing, to convince a bunch of kids that processed chicken nuggets are disgusting.
remember that time Jamie Oliver tried to scare kids away from eating chicken nuggets but they were having none of it