According to a Tyson Foods statement, the company received complaints from a “small number” of consumers that tiny fragments of plastic were found in the products, consumed at Sam’s Club warehouse stores. Some of the affected consumers reported minor oral injuries as a result of consuming the tainted nuggets.
Production problem
The contamination reportedly has been linked to a scraper inside a blending machine at the Tyson Foods production facility. Tyson Foods representatives could not be reached for additional comment, but the company indicated in a statement the problem has been corrected and the facility in question inspected to ensure no such production problems reoccur.
According to the Tyson Foods statement, the affected product lots (5lb bags of white-meat chicken nuggets, and 20lb packs of nugget-shaped pattie fritters) were manufactured on two days on a single line at the firm’s chicken production facility. Packages sold in smaller packages, or at other retailers, are not affected.
The tainted chicken nuggets were shipped to Sam’s Club distribution across the US, and in Puerto Rico in late January and in February. The breast pattie fritters were sold to one institutional customer in Indiana, and at the Tyson Foods company store in Lowell, Arkansas.