The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced a recall of about 89,531 pounds of Wei-Chuan Granulated Chicken Bouillon products. The Wei-Chuan Granulated Chicken Bouillon has been recalled because of its ineligibility for import into the United States, said the USDA.
The recall is a Class II recall, in which a <"https://www.yourlawyer.com/practice_areas/food_poisoning">health hazard situation exists with a remote probability of adverse health consequences from the use of the product, in this case Wei-Chuan Granulated Chicken Bouillon USA, Inc., products from Wei-Chuan USA located in Bell Gardens, California.
The recalled Wei-Chuan Granulated Chicken Bouillon has been recalled because it does not meet either poultry products inspection or poultry exemption requirements. Specifically, said the USDA’s FSIS, it could not be determined that the poultry ingredients used in the manufacture of the recalled Wei-Chuan Chicken Bouillon were prepared under inspection as required by either domestic federal regulations or under a foreign inspection system determined to be its equivalent. A poultry ingredient is determined to be ineligible when the source of the ingredients cannot be determined, as is the case in this recall.
The problem with the recalled Wei-Chuan Chicken Bouillon was discovered after Customs and Border Protection notified FSIS of the ineligible imported products which originated from an unapproved source. Customs and Border Protection provides oversight of all products entering the United States; FSIS works with other federal agencies to ensure the safety of imported meat, poultry, and processed egg products; and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issues import permits based on animal health considerations, specific to a country or region.
The recalled Wei-Chuan Granulated Chicken Bouillon products were distributed to retail establishments in California, Illinois, New Jersey, Texas, and Washington. To date, FSIS has received no reports of illness as a result of consuming this product.
The recalled Wei-Chuan Granulated Chicken Bouillon products include:
- 1-pound cans of “WEI-CHUAN Granulated Chicken Bouillon.”
- 2.2-pound cans of “WEI-CHUAN Granulated Chicken Bouillon.”
- 5-pound plastic pouches of “WEI-CHUAN Granulated Chicken Bouillon.”
The USDA’s FSIS is advising consumers with questions about the recall to contact Mike Grasso at (571) 239-4511. The FSIS is also advising consumers with food safety questions to access “Ask Karen,” the FSIS virtual representative which is available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from l0:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are also available 24 hours a day.
Although not only linked to poultry, Salmonella is of particular concern in recalls involving poultry products since the Salmonella pathogen live in the intestinal tracts of humans and other animals, including birds, and are usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with animal feces. Many chicks and young birds carry Salmonella in their feces.
