Tyson Foods of Rogers, Arkansas, is recalling about 69,093 pounds of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken strips that may be contaminated with foreign materials, more specifically pieces of plastic. Those plastic pieces can pose a choking hazard. Two consumer complaints prompted this recall. There are no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to this issue. The recalled products were made on November 30, 2018. They are: 25-ounce plastic bag packages of frozen “Tyson FULLY COOKED BUFFALO STYLE CHICKEN STRIPS CHICKEN BREAST STRIP FRITTERS WITH RIB MEAT AND BUFFALO STYLE SAUCE” with “BEST IF USED BY NOV 30 2019,” case codes 3348CNQ0317 and 3348CNQ0318, and individual bag time stamps from 17:00 through 18:59 hours (inclusive). 25-ounce plastic bag packages of frozen “Tyson FULLY COOKED … [Read more...]
Salmonella Outbreak at TN Prison Linked to Tyson Chicken
A Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak in 2013 at a Tennessee correctional facility that was linked to mechanically separated Tyson chicken sickened nine people. Twenty-two percent of those sickened were hospitalized; no deaths were reported. All of the ill persons were incarcerated at a single correctional facility in the state. Traceback and other investigations found that mechanically separated chicken produced by Tyson Foods was the source of the 2013 outbreak. Mechanically separated chicken is a paste-like meat product that is made by forcing meat through a sieve to separate bone from the edible part. The product then will have bacteria spread throughout it, similar to ground meats. Since prisoners are literally a "captive audience", it may be considered cruel and unusual punishment … [Read more...]
Tyson Salmonella Outbreak Ends, Nine Sick in TN
A Salmonella outbreak linked to Tyson mechanically separated chicken sickened nine inmates at the Bradley County Jail in TN and did not include cases in other states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has determined. Health officials looked at 23 cases of Salmonella Heidelberg infections in 15 other states that took place during the same time period as the illnesses at the jail and concluded that they were not part of the outbreak. A food source for the cases that were ruled out was not determined. Mechanically separated chicken is made by forcing chicken bones and attached edible tissue through a sieve or similar device to separate meat from bone. It has a looser consistency than ground chicken, more like a paste or batter. The product is normally used as an … [Read more...]
Tyson Salmonella Outbreak Strains Show Antibiotic Resistance
Salmonella in Tyson mechanically separated chicken that sickened nine inmates at the Bradley County Jail in TN last November is antibiotic resistant, according to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tyson recalled 34,000 pounds of the product, which was not sold retail, earlier this month. Institutions that purchased this product should not use it. Tests on samples from three of the nine inmates sickened were conducted by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System for Enteric Bacteria (NARMS). NARMS is a collaboration of the CDC, state and local public health departments, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that was established in 1996 to track antibiotic resistance of foodborne … [Read more...]
No Middleman, Bradley County Jail Got Chicken Product From Tyson
The Bradley County Jail in TN, where nine inmates contracted Salmonella poisoning from a Tyson chicken product, received the product directly from Tyson and used it to prepare meals, Shelley Walker, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Health told Food Poisoning Bulletin today. No other company was involved in the transaction between Tyson and the jail. The product, mechanically separated chicken, has a consistency that is much looser than ground chicken, more like a paste or thick batter. Normally, it used as an ingredient in hot dogs, bologna and luncheon meats, but no company acted as a middleman using the Tyson product to make those items for the jail. The correctional facility took delivery of the product, which has since been recalled, from Tyson. It is not clear at this … [Read more...]
Salmonella in Tyson Chicken Sickens 9 in Bradley County Jail
The Bradley County Jail is the Tennessee correctional facility where nine inmates were sickened with Salmonella poisoning after eating Tyson chicken, a county official told Food Poisoning Bulletin this morning. The outbreak may include cases in 12 other states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday. The agency is awaiting test results that will determine if the cases are linked. The outbreak strain, Salmonella Heidelberg, is the same strain involved in the Foster Farms outbreak that has sickened more than 400 people, but test results on samples from the inmates show the illnesses are not related to that outbreak. The inmates, two of whom required hospitalization, began falling ill on the weekend after Thanksgiving. Salmonella poisoning causes abdominal … [Read more...]
Tyson Salmonella Outbreak May Include Cases in 13 States, Says CDC
The Tyson Salmonella outbreak that has sickened nine inmates at a TN correctional facility may include cases in 12 other states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Two of the nine inmates sickened with Salmonella Heidelberg infections were hospitalized. These illnesses are not related to the ongoing Foster Farms outbreak which has also been linked to chicken products contaminated with Salmonella Heidelberg. This outbreak is linked to mechanically separated chicken, a paste "produced by forcing the bones and attached edible tissue through a sieve or similar device to separate the bone from the edible poultry tissue," to make hot dogs, bologna, nuggets, and patties, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Because the product contains bone … [Read more...]
Tyson Chicken Linked to Salmonella Heidelberg Outbreak
The USDA has announced that Tyson mechanically separated chicken products have been linked to a Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) was notified of a cluster of Salmonella Heidelberg illnesses in Tennessee on December 12, 2013. There is a link between the mechanically separated chicken products from Tyson Foods and the illness cluster in a Tennessee correctional facility. Seven patients have been identified at the facility with illness. Two people have been hospitalized. Illness onset dates range from November 29, 2013 to December 5, 2013. An inmate sickened in this outbreak has the right to sue for Salmonella food poisoning. A recall has been issued. More than 33,000 pounds of forty pound cases of "TYSON MECHANICALLY SEPARATED … [Read more...]
Tyson Settles Toxic Gas Lawsuit for $4.25 Million
Tyson Foods has agreed to pay $4.25 million to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to settle a lawsuit stemming from incidents where leaky refrigeration systems at two dozens Tyson plants in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska released anhydrous ammonia into the air injuring workers and killing one person. Tyson must pay $3.95 million penalty and purchase $300,000 of emergency response equipment for first responders in communities where Tyson operates. Vapors of anhydrous ammonia can cause temporary blindness, eye damage, irritation of the skin and respiratory systemas well as irritation of the skin, mouth, throat, respiratory tract and mucous membranes. Prolonged exposure leads to lung damage and death. “Today’s settlement with Tyson Foods will ensure the proper safety … [Read more...]
Tyson Blasts CDC Report On Chlorine Leak
Tyson Foods Inc. is blasting a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about an accident involving a chlorine gas leak at the company’s plant in Springdale Ark., in June 2011. The incident occurred when a worker at the poultry processing plant began to pour sodium hypochlorite into a 55-gallon drum that contained residual acidic antimicrobial solution. When the two chemicals reacted, a greenish-yellow cloud of chlorine gas was released. Eventually, the toxic gas spread throughout the plant where 600 workers were on the job. The plant was immediately evacuated, but not before some workers were injured. Chlorine is a respiratory irritant that can produce mild symptoms such as eye, nose, and throat irritation or severe symptoms such as lung inflammation which can … [Read more...]
