Pilgrim's Pride Recalls Fully Cooked Chicken for Metal Contamination
Pilgrim's Pride recalls over 5.5 million pounds of fully cooked chicken products due to possible extraneous metal contamination. Check your product dates and stop eating them.
Stop using this now
Product Contamination
What happened, in plain English
Pilgrim's Pride Corp. is recalling more than 5.5 million pounds of various fully cooked chicken products, including nuggets, patties, and wings, because they may be contaminated with extraneous metal materials. The issue was identified after consumer complaints regarding plastic contamination led to a broader investigation that found foreign matter risks. Consumers who have purchased these items are urged not to consume them. Read more at govinfonow.com/recall/1275564-pilgrim-s-pride-recalls-fully-cooked-chicken-for-metal-contamination.
Source Summary by GovInfoNow · govinfonow.com/recall/1275564-pilgrim-s-pride-recalls-fully-cooked-chicken-for-metal-contamination · Updated October 9, 2026 · Official notice: USDA FSIS #027-2016 expansion-3
Cite this page
“Pilgrim's Pride Recalls Fully Cooked Chicken for Metal Contamination.” GovInfoNow, updated October 9, 2026. https://govinfonow.com/recall/1275564-pilgrim-s-pride-recalls-fully-cooked-chicken-for-metal-contamination. Based on USDA FSIS recall #027-2016 expansion-3 (https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts/pilgrims-pride-corp--expands-recall-poultry-products-due-possible-foreign-matter).
Why it’s dangerous
The recalled chicken products may contain extraneous metal materials or other foreign matter. Consuming these items poses a risk of injury from ingesting hard, sharp objects that could cause internal damage or choking.
Who’s affected
Consumers and institutions, such as schools, that purchased fully cooked chicken products from Pilgrim's Pride between August 2014 and December 2016. The products were shipped nationwide for institutional use through commercial channels.
How to tell if you have this one
Look for fully cooked chicken products from Pilgrim's Pride (including Gold Kist Farms, Pierce Chicken, Sweet Georgia Brand, and Green Dragon brands) with establishment number EST. 20728 inside the USDA mark of inspection. Affected items include various boxes of nuggets, patties, tenderloins, and wings produced on dates ranging from August 21, 2014, to December 3, 2015, with use-by/sell-by dates extending into 2016.
- Brand
Pilgrim's Pride- Category
Meat & poultry
What to do — step by step
Stop consuming the product
Do not eat any of the recalled fully cooked chicken products immediately.
Discard or return items
Throw away the affected products or return them to the place where you purchased them.
Contact manufacturer for questions
Call James Brown, Consumer Relations Manager, at (800) 321-1470 if you have questions about the recall.
What USDA FSIS says to do
Consumers who have purchased the recalled products are urged not to consume them.
How this recall unfolded
Recall timeline
FSIS closed this recall in 2017.
- USDA FSIS announced the recall
- FSIS closed the recall
Dates from the agency record only; steps without a date are left out.
Questions people ask
Have there been any injuries reported from these products?
According to the record, there have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. However, anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.
Who can I contact for more information about this recall?
Consumers can contact James Brown, Consumer Relations Manager, at (800) 321-1470. For food safety questions, you can also call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854).
Similar recalls
Latest meat & poultry recalls
Keep exploring
Where this comes from
The facts (hazard, remedy, dates, manufacturer) are pulled from the official USDA FSIS recall record. The plain-language summary and step-by-step checklist are written by GovInfoNow to make the official notice easier to act on — they don’t replace it.
- Official source: USDA FSIS Recall #027-2016 expansion-3 (May 13, 2016)
- Plain-language summary written by qwen3.6:35b-a3b on October 9, 2026, from the official record above. Not reviewed by a person — if it conflicts with the USDA FSIS notice, the notice is correct. Report an error on this page.
- GovInfoNow is an independent service and is not a government agency. We republish official USDA FSIS recall data; we don’t issue, amend or administer recalls.