Beloved supermarket chain Wegmans is recalling 1,125 pounds of chicken from its stores.
The chicken was recalled for being "produced without the benefit of federal inspection" outside of regular production hours, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
Produced on Jan. 3, 2016 with sell-by dates ranging from mid to late January, the listed products are:
Approximately 1-lb. vacuum-sealed packages containing “Wegmans Italian Flavored Chicken Breast Cutlet” with a use-by date of 1/24/2016.
Approximately 1-lb. vacuum-sealed packages containing “Wegmans Brown Sugar Barbecue Seasoned Chicken Breast Cutlet” with a use-by date of 1/15/2016.
3-lb. vacuum-sealed packages containing “Wegmans Garlic & Fennel Whole Chicken Roaster” with a use-by date of 1/13/2016.
1-lb. vacuum-sealed packages containing “Wokery Sherry Chicken 27482” with use-by date of 1/13/2016.
A release from Wegmans states that only three of the four listed products made it to shelves. The fourth was a bulk item found in the prepared food section that was never put out on the floor. The recall, a Wegmans representative stated, was exclusively due to a lack of inspection.
"The only reason this product is being recalled is because it was produced without the benefit of USDA inspection, not because any issue or defect was found in the product," Jo Natale, vice president of media relations for Wegmans, said in a statement.
By regulation, a USDA inspector must be on site during any meat and poultry processing, Natale explained to The Huffington Post. "An extra production run was scheduled on Sunday, 1/3. Our facility should have notified a USDA inspector to be on site, but that did not happen. Once this error was brought to our attention on Monday, we worked with USDA to determine what steps needed to be taken."
Any concerned customer can contact Wegmans Consumer Affairs Department at 1-(800)-934-6267, ext. 4760.
In addition, Wegmans advises anyone who has already purchased any of the listed products not to consume them and to instead return them for a full refund.
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