One Of The Biggest Chicken Recalls In US History Is Happening Now - What To Know
Chicken offers a lot to like, especially if you're looking for an affordable complete protein source to round out your diet. However, a recent voluntary recall involving a chicken product shows that you can't be too careful when it comes to staying on top of what's safe to eat.
The voluntary recall affects more than four million pounds of frozen chicken sold by Hormel Foods Corporation to commercial clients. According to an October 2025 announcement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), five types of Hormel Foods heat-and-serve style chicken were pulled due to possible metal contamination.
The metal came from a conveyor belt, and the affected cases were distributed between February and September 2025. Yet the company wasn't aware of the problem until some of its food service customers complained.
There haven't been any reports of people being injured by eating the chicken. Nonetheless, the recall has been listed as a Class I, the highest recall classification. Class I recalls are reserved for products that could cause serious harm or fatalities after exposure or use (via the U.S. Food and Drug Administration).
Which poultry products are being removed from the market
The affected products fall under Hormel Foods' Fire Braised Meats label and include boneless chicken breasts, chicken breasts with rib meat, and chicken thighs. The complete list of product numbers is available through the USDA to enable efficient cross-checking of suspected cases. Hormel Foods asks that any recalled chicken be discarded.
It's doubtful that you have any of the potentially compromised chicken in your home because it was sold around the country to food service industry operators and not directly to individuals. But if you're working in a restaurant, hotel, or similar location, you might want to examine the type of Hormel chicken that's in your industrial freezer.
Although millions of pounds of chicken might sound like a huge recall, it's not the biggest poultry recall in U.S. history (unlike the largest national hand soap recall that happened in 2025). That claim goes to Pilgrim's Pride, which recalled 27.4 million pounds of chicken and turkey deli meat in 2002 because of the presence in the meat of a deadly bacteria called listeria.