ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Deliberate tampering is being blamed for a recall of approximately 55,608 lbs. of Gold’n Plump and Just BARE chicken products. In a statement, GNP Company said a third-party lab verified the presence of benign, natural materials including dirt and sand.
“The USDA Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a Class I recall of some of the company’s products on Saturday, June 18,” GNP said. “The affected product may be contaminated with extraneous foreign matter, and is linked to an isolated product tampering incident that occurred at the company’s Cold Spring processing plant the week of June 6. Law enforcement authorities are currently handling the case.”
Lexann Reischle, corporate relations manager for GNP, said in an email statement to MEAT+POULTRY “The individual responsible has been identified, their employment terminated, and the case turned over to law enforcement. Because the investigation is ongoing, however, we aren’t able to provide additional details about the case”
GNP Company noted that only one of the affected products is sold in grocery store meat cases, while the rest of the recalled items were sold through foodservice and institutional outlets. The one retail item being recalled is Just BARE Whole Chicken (UPC 024105594057), sold in 4-lb. poly-bags, with a use-by/freeze-by date stamp of 6/26/16. The product bears code P-322 inside the USDA mark of inspection.
A list of foodservice products is available on the FSIS website.
