Tyson Recalls 8.5 Million Pounds of Chicken Products

(Bloomberg) -- Tyson Foods Inc. said it's recalling about 8.5 million pounds of frozen, fully cooked chicken on precaution due to potential exposure to listeria bacteria, making it the largest such exercise in five years amid surging U.S. demand for poultry products.

This recall is the largest for listeria since 2016, according to government data, when more than 47 million pounds were affected. The data doesn't yet include 2020-2021.

The biggest U.S. meat company by sales was working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on the recall for the affected food products that were produced at a plant in Dexter, Missouri, between Dec. 26 last year and April 13, it said in a statement. The products were distributed to food service and retail customers nationwide as well as Puerto Rico.

“While there is no conclusive evidence that the products were contaminated at the time of shipment, the voluntary recall is being initiated out of an abundance of caution,” Tyson said.

No other Tyson products were affected by the recall.

The agriculture department's Food Safety and Inspection Service found evidence linking listeria to precooked chicken at Tyson after an investigation detected three cases of illnesses from the pathogenic bacteria, including one death, between April 6 and June 5.

“During routine sample collection, FSIS collected two precooked chicken samples from two establishments that are closely related genetically to Listeria monocytogenes from ill people,” the inspection service said. “One of the samples was collected at Tyson Foods”

The recall comes after U.S. producer prices for processed poultry jumped to an all-time high in May, in part due to several large fast-food restaurant chains recently launching fried-chicken sandwiches and as more people cook at home during the pandemic.