There are two things that most kids absolutely love: dinosaurs and chicken nuggets.
But if you’ve seen Jurassic Park, you know where this is going. Dinosaurs and people don’t mix… even when it comes to chicken-based dinosaur products.
Based on Perdue’s recent recall on over 16K POUNDS of their dinosaur-shaped nuggets, it’s clear that their dinosaurs are dangerous- for some kids, anyway.
The U.S Department of Agriculture just issued a recall on Perdue’s dinosaur-shaped nuggets- and this is Perdue’s second nugget recall in just 11 days.
The chicken nugget recall was issued due to the possibility of “undeclared allergens”.
Well, that’s pretty vague and disturbing, huh? What that actually means is the nuggets contain milk -a known allergen that is required by law to be listed on the product packaging- and the packaging did not include this detail on their labels.
Now while that may seem like a moot point to those with children that are allergy-free, try to imagine trusting a product label to keep your allergic kid safe, only to find out, oops! They forgot to mention the allergen on the label. That’s pretty damn scary for children with severe allergies.
The affected packages include the 12oz. “Perdue Fun Shapes Chicken Breast Nuggets” with a use-by date of March 11, 2019, and lot codes 17009010 – 19009010.
Thankfully, Perdue caught their error in time; according to Jeff Shaw, Perdue’s Vice President for Quality Assurance,
There have been no reports of adverse reaction or illness associated with this product.
So they got lucky.
So perhaps you skip the dino-nuggets because you’re looking for a healthier, gluten-free alternative… and you buy the SimplySmart Organic nuggets. Well, think twice, because:
Perdue just had another recall prior to this one, just eleven days earlier.
Earlier this month, Perdue issued a recall on their SimplySmart Organic chicken nuggets… for over 68 thousand pounds of them.
The reason? Several bags were found to have wood inside. Yes, you read that correctly- WOOD. No one needs that kind of hefty fiber, especially children.
The recall applies to bags of nuggets with a “best if used by” date of October 25, 2019, and a UPC product bar code of 72745-80656.
And once again, Perdue Vice President Jeff Shaw spoke on the matter:
After a thorough investigation, we strongly believe this to be an isolated incident, as only a minimal amount of these packages has the potential to contain pieces of wood.
Oh, ok. Great. So only a minimal amount of these packages has the potential to contain wood. Hope we’re among the lucky ones, then!
But if your kids are like mine, they sure do love their nuggets- so perhaps you think maybe it’s time for you and Perdue to part ways. There are other brands out there, and Tyson Foods sells nuggets, too! Sweet, right?
Well… not so much. In fact, Tyson’s nuggets are less of a “sweet” deal, and more of a rubbery one (literally).
Yep, Tyson, too! Tyson just issued a recall for over 36K pounds of their White Meat Panko Chicken Nuggets, because of a “possible rubber contamination”.
Let’s put it this way- while chicken nuggets may not be a delicacy in terms of the meat sources they use, but at least they’re not made of rubber… until THEY ARE.
The packages being recalled have a use-by date of November 26, 2019 and a case code “3308SDL03” on the package label.
This one is the worst of them all, because unlike Perdue, we didn’t have reliable Jeff Shaw to assure us that no customers were affected, and that the recall was precautionary.
Nope- Tyson recalled the nuggets due to customer complaints; as CNN reported:
The Food Safety and Inspection Service was alerted to the issue Tuesday after Tyson received consumer complaints about “extraneous material, specifically rubber” in the product, the agency said in a statement.
Ok, gross. NASTY. *gag*
The bottom line: chicken nugget manufacturers seem to be slipping these days, and kids deserve better than that. Industry is complicated, and mistakes can happen. But with three chicken nugget recalls within two months, it’s important that parents keep a watchful eye on those nuggets and stay informed.
Parents have enough on their plate without having to worry about the food that is literally on their childrens’ plates. So check your chicken nugget bags and here are the links to all three recalls below: