Omaha Steaks is recalling frozen, raw stuffed chicken products manufactured by Barber Foods that may be contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis. It was announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
Earlier this month, USDA-FSIS issued a public health alert due to concerns about illnesses caused by Salmonella that may be associated with raw, frozen, breaded and pre-browned, stuffed chicken products.
The products subject to recall bear the establishment number “P-276” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These products were shipped to retail locations nationwide.
Products were sold under many different brand names, including Barber Foods, Meijer, and Sysco.
Since the original recall, two more case-patients have been identified. The scope of this recall expansion now includes all products associated with contaminated source material.
On July 13, Omaha Steaks issued a recall of stuffed chicken breast products that may be contaminated with Salmonella. Products were manufactured by Barber Foods and sold under the Omaha Steaks label.
Barber Foods, Omaha Steaks recall frozen raw chicken entrees. Check your freezer! https://t.co/2qWG3eqHKF
— CDC Emergency (@CDCemergency) July 14, 2015
Products subject to recall bear the establishment number “P-4230A” on the packaging. A list of recalled products includes Chicken Cordon Bleu date code ECREK, Chicken Kiev date codes EIBOK and ECBIK, Breast of Chicken with Broccoli & Cheese date codes ECEHK and ECEOK.
Consumers should check their freezers for any of the recalled frozen, raw chicken products and should not eat them. Retailers should not sell them and restaurants should not serve them.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advices the consumers to:
- Safely handle raw, frozen, breaded, pre-browned, and stuffed chicken products to prevent foodborne illness.
- Read the package carefully. Look for words like “Raw” or “Uncooked” to determine if the product is raw.
- The product may not look raw. It may appear to be pre-cooked because it may be breaded and browned.
- Follow cooking instructions exactly as they are written on the package.
- Use a food thermometer to check that the product has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, checking at the center, the thickest part, and the surface of the product.
- Color is NOT a reliable indicator that poultry has been cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria.
- Clean and disinfect any surfaces and utensils that touched the raw product, including the product packaging, or any breading that falls off.
- Wash your hands with warm soapy water for 20 seconds before and after handling the raw product.
