Hormel Foods has announced a significant recall involving nearly 5 million pounds of ready-to-eat frozen chicken products due to potential contamination with metal fragments. This decision was made following an alert from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on Saturday.
The contamination was traced back to fragments from a conveyor belt utilized during the production process. According to FSIS, the metal pieces vary in size, measuring approximately 2mm by 17mm. The issue surfaced after Hormel received multiple complaints from foodservice customers, including hotels, restaurants, and other food-service organizations, who reported finding metal in their frozen chicken breast and thigh products.
The affected items are sold under the HORMEL® FIRE BRAISED™ label and were distributed nationwide between February 10 and September 19, 2025. Hormel Foods Sales, LLC disclosed that it is voluntarily recalling 215,258 cases, which amounts to a total of 4,874,815 pounds of chicken. This recall pertains to bulk cases of boneless chicken breast and thigh meat, weighing between 13 to 24 pounds, identified by item codes 65009, 77531, 46750, 86206, and 134394.
Importantly, both FSIS and Hormel emphasized that these products were not sold in grocery stores or directly to consumers but were meant exclusively for foodservice operations. Hormel reassured that all customers who may have received the affected product have been properly notified of the situation.
FSIS has urged businesses to refrain from serving the contaminated chicken, advising that any recalled products still stored in commercial kitchens should be discarded. The agency is also conducting routine checks to ensure that the recalled products are no longer available to consumers.
Despite the seriousness of the recall, Hormel asserted that no other HORMEL® products are affected and that there have been no reported illnesses or injuries linked to the contaminated items. This incident underscores the importance of vigilance in food safety practices, particularly in foodservice settings.
