Over 30,000 Pounds Of Ready-To-Eat Chicken Are Being Recalled

Over 30,000 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken fillet products are being recalled because they may be undercooked. Cooking chicken to the right temperature is key to ensuring food safety.

Wayne Farms is recalling 30,285 pounds of its ready-to-eat "All Natural Fire Grilled Chicken Breast" after it received a customer complaint that the products appeared undercooked, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced on its website.

People have to take extra care when it comes to consuming chicken because they can carry certain bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter. Eating undercooked chicken meat can cause foodborne illness, more commonly known as food poisoning, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

So far, there are "no confirmed reports" of adverse reactions resulting from consuming the recalled products. However, anyone who has any concerns about an illness should contact a health care provider.

The recalled ready-to-eat products were shipped to a distributor in Illinois and then to restaurants. This affects 9-lb cases of "All Natural Fire Grilled Chicken Breast" in 6-oz (with a use-by date of 5/30/22) and 4-oz (with a use-by date of 6/19/22). They have the establishment number "EST.20214" written on the case. Photos of the products' packaging are available on the FSIS website.

"FSIS is concerned that some products may be in distributors' or restaurant freezers or refrigerators," the FSIS noted in the recall alert. "Restaurants are urged not to serve these products. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase."

It is estimated that about a million people in the U.S. get sick each year from eating contaminated chicken. This is why it is important to follow several food safety steps when it comes to preparing chicken. This includes placing the raw chicken in a disposable bag before keeping it in the shopping cart or refrigerator so that its juices won't get into the other food, noted the CDC. It's also important to always wash hands with soapy water, both before and after handling chicken, and to not wash raw chicken because it can cause the juices to splash and contaminate the other items in the kitchen.

Remember to use a separate cutting board for raw chicken and to properly wash all the items used to cook it. To make sure that the chicken is cooked thoroughly, it's best to use a food thermometer to ensure that the internal temperature has reached a safe 165 degrees Fahrenheit.