USDA issues public health alert for chicken nuggets meal: salmonella risk

This Banquet Chicken Nuggets with Mac & Cheese frozen meal could pose a salmonella risk, according to the USDA.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service on Thursday, along with Conagra Brands Inc. issued a public health alert for its Banquet Chicken Nuggets meal tray with Mac & Cheese and Chocolate Brownie due to potential salmonella contamination.

The USDA’s food safety agency issued the alert for that one type of Conagra frozen entrée because the brownie mix dessert included in the tray may be contaminated with salmonella, according to its announcement.

Every year, Salmonella is estimated to cause one million food-borne illnesses in the United States, with 19,000 hospitalizations and 380 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Most of those exposed to the Salmonella bacterium develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most recover without treatment.

The public health alert applies to for the 7.4 ounce vacuum-packed Banquet Chicken Nuggets with Mac & Cheese tray with the code 3100080921 and a “best if used by” date of July 20, 2018. The Conagra Brands product also has the FSIS establishment number “P-9” printed on the side of the box. It affects more than 110,00 pounds of frozen meals sold nationwide.

A supplier notified Conagra Brands that an ingredient used in the brownie mix may have been tainted with salmonella, according to the FSIS statement. The potential contamination was discovered after a consumer complaint. There have been no confirmed reports of salmonella poisoning caused by the Banquet Chicken Nuggets with Mac & Cheese meal, so far, USDA officials said Friday.

Conagra Communications Manager Kristine Mulford said that the company tested the product “at the time of manufacture and there was no salmonella to be found.” But Conagra worked carefully with the USDA to issue the public health alert “out of an abundance of caution,” she said.

Mulford noted that news reports calling the alert a “recall” are inaccurate. The product has not been pulled from the shelves, she said According to Mulford, the risk of salmonella poisoning is eliminated when “the product is cooked thoroughly per the package instructions.”

The FSIS advised customers who have any questions about the Banquet Chicken Nugget meal to call Conagra Brands Consumer Affairs at 1-800-289-6014.

Thursday’s public health alert comes less than three weeks after Conagra Brands voluntarily pulled a limited supply of Hunt’s Chili Kits from the shelves. The Missouri-based food manufacturer recalled the Hunt’s product due to potential Salmonella contamination in the chili seasoning packet included in the kit, according to the U.S, Food and Drug Administration. As with the Banquet Chicken Nugget meal, a supplier informed Conagra Brands of the potential presence of salmonella in a raw material used in the seasoning.