Perdue Recalls 167,000 Pounds of Chicken Nuggets After Customers Find Metal in Product

Over 160,000 pounds of frozen chicken nuggets and tenders have been recalled after customers reported finding metal in certain products.

Perdue is recalling approximately 167,171 pounds of frozen chicken products over possible contamination with foreign materials of metal, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said in a statement released on Friday, Aug. 16.

The recall comes after consumers reported finding “metal wire embedded” in the ready-to-eat products. FSIS was made aware of the detections by the establishment and put out the request.

In a statement, Jeff Shaw, Perdue’s senior vice president of food safety and quality, said the company “determined the material to be a very thin strand of metal wire that was inadvertently introduced into the manufacturing process.”

He added: “Out of an abundance of caution, we decided to voluntarily recall all of these packages of products.”

Produced in March 2024, the affected products, which are all packaged in vacuum-sealed bags, include 22-oz. packages containing Perdue Simply Smart Organics Breaded Chicken Breast Nuggets, 29-oz. packages containing Perdue Chicken Breast Tenders and 22-oz. packages containing Butcherbox Organic Chicken Breast Nuggets.

The products subject to recall also have the ‘Best If Used By’ date of March 23, 2025, and the establishment number “P-33944,” which are displayed on the back of the packages. Full details about the affected products can be found here.

According to the FSIS, the frozen items were produced on March 23, 2024. The products were then shipped to retail locations across the country and also sold directly to customers online.

While there so far has been no confirmed reports of any injuries or harmful reactions to the products, there is now “concern” from the department that the products are in freezers nationwide.

“Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them,” the FSIS said in the official notice. “These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.”

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“FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers.”