52,022 Pounds Of Chicken Salad, Dip Recalled For Possibly Containing Plastic

Massachusetts-based Willow Tree Poultry Farm has recalled some of its ready-to-eat (RTE) products because they may be contaminated with "hard white plastic." The products were shipped to various locations in nine states.

The company learned about the issue after it received a customer complaint, the announcement posted on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) website noted.

Under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA), meat and poultry products are "adulterated" if they are contaminated with foreign material "regardless of the physical characteristics of the foreign material (e.g., shape, size, hardness, etc.)."

The company is recalling about 52,022 pounds of chicken salad and dip products, produced from Aug. 10 to Aug. 13. This includes the Willow Tree Premium White Meat Caesar Chicken Dip, Willow Tree Premium White Meat Buffalo Chicken Dip, Willow Tree Premium White Meat Buffalo Chicken Salad, Willow Tree Premium White Meat Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad and Willow Tree Premium White Meat Classic Chicken Salad.

The specific container sizes and sell-by dates of the affected products are available on the FSIS website. The recalled items were sold at both retail and wholesale locations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.

They have the establishment number "EST.P-8827" inside the USDA mark of inspection. Pictures of the products' packaging are available here.

According to the FSIS, there are so far "no confirmed reports" of adverse reactions related to the recalled products, but consumers are advised to not eat them.

"These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase," the FSIS said.

The nature of the "hard white plastic" is unclear, but according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), hard or sharp foreign objects may potentially cause "traumatic injury" such as damage to gums or teeth. For instance, between 1972 and 1997, the agency found 190 cases of both injury and non-injury cases of hard or sharp foreign objects in food.

Objects less than 7mm in maximum dimension are said to "rarely" cause injury or trauma except in certain groups such as infants or the elderly.