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Tarantino Wholesale Foods Distributor Recalls Ready-to-Eat Chicken Breast Products That May be Undercooked


Mary's Chicken Breast is being recalled
Watch for this recall of Mary’s Chicken Breast. (Photo: USDA)

Class I Recall — Health Risk: High

Tarantino Wholesale Foods Distributor, a San Diego, Calif., establishment, is recalling approximately 1,115 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken breast products due to undercooking, resulting in the potential survival of bacterial pathogens in the products, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The ready-to-eat grilled chicken breast items were produced on October 23, 2020. The following products are subject to recall:

  • 10-lb. cases of “MARY’S FULLY COOKED CHICKEN BREAST” with lot code 20297 and use by date 10/23/21.

The cases containing the products subject to recall bear establishment number “P-8119” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to institution locations in California and were sold directly to retail consumers.            

The problem was discovered when the firm received a customer complaint that the ready-to-eat chicken product appeared to be undercooked.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.  

Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.      

FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls.        

Consumers with questions regarding the recall can contact Marcos Tarantino, Quality Assurance Supervisor, at [email protected]. Media with questions regarding the recall can contact Pete Tarantino, CEO, at (619) 232-7585.

Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) or live chat via Ask USDA from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Consumers can also browse food safety messages at Ask USDA or send a question via email to [email protected]. For consumers that need to report a problem with a meat, poultry, or egg product, the online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/.

USDA Recall Classifications
Class I This is a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.
Class II This is a health hazard situation where there is a remote probability of adverse health consequences from the use of the product.
Class III This is a situation where the use of the product will not cause adverse health consequences.

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