Major brands issue emergency recall of more than 4 million pounds of frozen chicken
If you’re craving a chicken sandwich from your favorite restaurant, you may need to cancel at short notice. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a massive recall of frozen chicken produced by Hormel Foods and distributed to a company that serves businesses across the country. These items are delivered to various restaurants as well as cafeterias and other establishments. The recall is expected to affect up to 4,874,815 pounds of chicken products that are deemed unsafe due to the possible presence of metal fragments in the food.
The contaminated chicken was distributed between February 10, 2025, and September 19, 2025, to a restaurant supply company called HRI Commercial Food Service in Erie, Pennsylvania. These include boneless chicken thighs and breasts from Hormel, and businesses are urged to look for the P-223 code within the USDA inspection mark to determine if they have the recalled product. If so, the frozen chicken should be discarded immediately. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported, but if consumers have any concerns, please contact Hormel Foods at 1-800-523-4635. People can also contact the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotline.
Read more: Largest canned food recall in U.S. history
What Caused the Hormel Frozen Chicken Recall?
People eating chicken sandwiches in a restaurant – Da Bali/Getty Images
Hormel’s latest food recall came to light after customers complained about metal fragments in frozen chicken. The company determined that conveyor belts were the likely culprit. This is not the first time Hormel has encountered such problems. In one of the largest pork recalls in the United States, the company recalled more than 228,000 pounds of canned meat in 2018 because the affected products contained small metal flakes. In an earlier incident, Hormel also became aware of the problem after consumers reported injuries related to contaminated food.
If you’ve noticed an increase in recalls in recent years, you might think that means food is becoming less safe. However, improved reporting and traceability are more likely to come into play. Therefore, a higher frequency may actually indicate that the security system is working as expected.
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