Tens of thousands of pounds of chicken nuggets are being recalled nationwide after a company received complaints of rubber found in the food, agriculture authorities said.
Tyson Foods is voluntarily recalling all five-pound bags of "White Meat Panko Chicken Nuggets" that were produced on Nov. 26, 2018, according to the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
The company said the product was shipped to distribution centers in Arizona, California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Utah, but FSIS says the products ended up in stores nationwide.
"A small number of consumers contacted the company to say they had found small pieces of soft, blue rubber in the nuggets, prompting the company to issue the recall," a Tyson Foods spokesperson said in a statement. "Though the pieces have been found in a very small number of packages, no injuries have been reported with this recall."
"However, out of an abundance of caution, the company is recalling 36,420 pounds of product," the spokesperson said.
FSIS said it first became aware of the problem on Tuesday. Authorities are now urging people to double check if they've purchased the nuggets.
"FSIS is concerned that some product may be frozen and in consumers’ freezers," the USDA officials said. "Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase."
The affected products have a use-by date of Nov. 26, 2019, and a UPC of 0 23700 03558 5.
Earlier this week, more than 16,000 pounds of Perdue chicken nuggets were recalled due to misbranding and allergens that went undeclared on the packaging.
FSIS said Perdue's "Fun Shapes Chicken Breast Nuggets" contained milk, a known allergen, and this was not declared on the product label.
Authorities said they hadn't received any reports of illness from the product, but urged anyone concerned about their health to seek medical attention.
The affected products were made on Jan. 10 and have a use-by date of March 11.
“After receiving a customer inquiry, we conducted a comprehensive investigation and have isolated this to an error during a specific time frame of the production run of Perdue Fun Shapes Refrigerated Chicken Breast Nuggets,” Jeff Shaw, the company's vice president for quality assurance, said in a statement.
“Out of an abundance of caution for our consumers we have decided to recall these items that were sold in the refrigerated case," he said.