Nestlé Recall: 92,206 Pounds Of Baked Chicken Recalled For Possibly Containing Plastic

Nestlé Prepared Foods is recalling about 92,200 pounds of its Lean Cuisine Baked Chicken products because they may be contaminated with "extraneous materials," in this case plastic pieces.

According to the recall notice posted on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) website, the problem was identified on Dec. 18 after the company received five complaints of the product containing "white hard plastic."

"The firm believes the mashed potatoes used in the production of the baked chicken meals products had pieces of a plastic conveyor belt that broke during production," the FSIS news release explained.

The recall affects the 8 5/8-oz. (244g) "Lean Cuisine Baked Chicken, white meat chicken with stuffing, red skin mashed potatoes and gravy" packed in carton trays. They have a lot code of 0246595911, a "best before" date of October 2021 and an establishment number of EST. P-9018.

Photos of the affected product's packaging are available here.

They were shipped to distributors nationwide, and so far no injuries or illnesses related to the recall have been reported, the news release explained.

Anyone who may have already purchased the affected products is being advised to not eat them and instead either throw the products away or return them to the place of purchase.

Those with questions about the recall may contact Nestlé Prepared Foods at (800) 993-8625.

The FSIS noted the health risk of the recall as "High" and classified it as a "Class I Recall." Under Class I recalls, there is a "reasonable probability" that using the product could cause "serious, adverse health consequences or death," the FSIS explained.

In 2019, the FSIS issued guidance for companies in responding to customer complaints. In the news release on the guidelines, the FSIS explained that there has been an increase in recalls linked to foreign materials in recent years.

"When an establishment needs to recall adulterated product from commerce, the establishment must identify the cause of the product adulteration and take steps to prevent recurrence in its Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan, which federal inspectors review," the FSIS said in the news release about the guidelines.