Tyson Foods Has Recalled Nearly 8.5 Million Pounds Of Chicken

Concerns regarding a potential Listeria outbreak have caused Tyson Foods Inc. to voluntarily recall nearly 8.5 million pounds of ready-to-eat chicken. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, the recall includes frozen, fully cooked Tyson chicken products produced between Dec. 26, 2020, and April 13, 2021, and shipped nationwide to retail stores and institutions such as schools, restaurants, hospitals, nursing facilities, and Department of Defense locations.

Reports two people had fallen ill with listeriosis, a serious infection caused by eating foods contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, spurred the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to launch an investigation into the matter in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Together the agencies determined there was evidence linking the two listeriosis infections to pre-cooked chicken from Tyson Foods Inc.

Ultimately, three people were sickened and hospitalized with listeriosis between April 6 and June 5, according to the CDC. One of those three people has died, the agency noted in a food safety alert. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is continuing its investigation to determine if there are any additional illnesses linked to the recalled Tyson Foods products.

While listeriosis primarily affects older adults, people with weakened immune systems, and pregnant people and their newborns, the Department of Agriculture has urged all consumers not to eat any recalled Tyson Foods chicken products. “These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” the agency noted in its recall alert.

According to Tyson, all recalled chicken products were produced by a Tyson Foods Inc. plant in Dexter, Missouri, and distributed to various foodservice and retail customers across the United States and Peurto Rico. “We’re committed to providing safe, healthy food that people rely on every day,” Scott Brooks, Tyson Foods’ senior vice president of food safety and quality assurance, said in a statement. “We are taking this precautionary step out of an abundance of caution and in keeping with our commitment to safety.”

Although the full list of retailers and restaurants that received recalled Tyson products has not yet been released by the Department of Agriculture, USA Today has reported it includes Walmart, Publix, H-E-B, and Wegmans and restaurants like Jet’s Pizza, Casey’s General Store, Marco’s Pizza and Little Caesars. Customers are encouraged to view the full list of recalled Tyson Foods chicken products at the Department of Agriculture’s website.