Food company in the U.S. recalls millions of pounds of chicken from stores: This was the reason

The American food company Hormel Foods recalled nearly five million pounds of ready-to-eat frozen chicken products after receiving customer complaints about metal pieces found in the food.

According to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), cited by the network Telemundo, no injuries or serious incidents have been reported related to the consumption of the affected products. 

After multiple customer complaints, the company, based in Austin, Minnesota, discovered that the metal fragments originated from a conveyor belt used during production, which led to the immediate recall of the batches.

Following the investigation, it was revealed that metal was found in frozen chicken breast and thigh products, the mentioned media outlet reported.

Chicken breast and thigh products were distributed between February 10 and September 19 to HRI Commercial Food Service, a national food supplier for hotels, restaurants, and institutions.

The authorities have expressed concern that part of the product may have already reached food service establishments.

The withdrawn items include:

13.9 lb boxes of "Hormel Fire Braised Meats, boneless chicken thigh" (code 65009).

13.8 lb boxes of “Hormel Fire Braised Meats, boneless chicken breast” (codes 77531 and 46750).

Boxes of 23.8 lb with “Hormel All Natural Fire-Cooked Chicken Breast, Boneless” (code 86206).

Boxes of 6.1 kg containing "Boneless chicken breast with rib meat" (code 134394).

In total, it is estimated that 4,874,815 pounds of chicken are part of the recall. The FSIS recommended that distributors and food service companies check their inventories and discard or return the affected products to avoid risks.