Gold N’ Plump Recalls Tons Of Chicken After Suspected In-House Sabotage

Gold n’ Plump is recalling more than 27 tons of chicken after contaminants were discovered in a sample of Gold n’ Plump’s product. Gold n’ Plump is the leading chicken manufacturer in the Upper Midwest and is based in central Minnesota.

What sort of contaminants were found in Gold n’ Plump’s chickens? The company reportedly found sand and black soil in its product, according to Gold n’ Plump’s spokesman, Lexann Reischl.

“Our own inspections turned it up, and two food service customers called and told us they found the same material.”

Earlier today, Gold n’ Plump issued a statement explaining the recall of their chicken. In the statement, Gold n’ Plump called the black soil and sand, “extraneous foreign matter.” The statement went on to say that the discovery was linked to a product tampering – read: sabotage – incident that happened in Gold n’ Plump’s Cold Spring, Minnesota processing plant on the week of June 6. Gold n’ Plump’s statement also reiterated that this was an isolated incident and that the problem was not ongoing.

So what Gold n’ Plump employee caused the issue? Police Sergeant Jason Blum of the Cold Spring Police Department said that there is a “known suspect” that authorities are zeroing in on. However, that being said, as of the writing of this article, an arrest has yet to be made.

Gold n’ Plump spokespersons are quick to add that no illnesses have been reported in coordination with this particular recall. Though the recall is categorized by regulators at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service as “high,” the 55,608 pounds of chicken being recalled are not commonly thought of as detrimental to the health of those who purchase them. In fact, the third-party lab that took a look at the contaminated Gold n’ Plump chicken that is being recalled verified that the foreign matter contained in it is made up of “benign, natural material…” The question then arises, if the material isn’t considered to be absolutely harmful to humans, then why the recall? According to experts, if officials can’t state with absolute certainty that the Gold n’ Plump chicken is safe for consumption, then a recall must be implemented.

The company statement noted that a third-party lab “verified the foreign matter to be benign, natural materials. … However, because the company cannot say with 100 percent certainty that the product is safe for consumption,” the recall was required.

The Gold n’ Plump chicken that was recalled was produced by St. Cloud-based GNP, and was produced between June 6 and 9. The recalled Gold n’ Plump chicken was packaged in 40-pound cases for food service and retail distribution. Additionally, the Gold n’ Plum chicken products have”P-322″ inside the USDA mark of inspection.

Consumers with questions about the recall can contact GNP’s Jane Kalthoff at 1-800-328-2838.

Often, there is mass panic when a recall of this sort is put forth, especially when it comes to such a common food item as chicken. It is the things that we most count on, the things that are most typical and common to us as Americans – things like chicken or hamburgers or potatoes or water – that when we are alerted that they may not be safe that a mass panic ensues. In this case, however, with the Gold n’ Plump chickens, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Would the FDA recommend that you go out in your backyard and grab a hand full of dirt and eat it? No. Would the FDA recommend that you go to your local beach and grab a hand full of sand and eat it? No. However, would doing either really hurt you in the long run? Probably not.

Gold n’ Plump has suffered from someone throwing sand and black dirt into their chicken. You probably shouldn’t eat it. Bring it back to where you bought it for a refund.

[Feature Photo by David McNew/Getty Images]