“If people would just cook the chicken the way they should they’ll be fine,” Craig Wilson, Costco’s food safety manager, told the Oregonian in response to why Costco has not pulled any raw poultry despite Foster Farms chicken sickening nearly 320 in 20 states and Puerto Rico.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced that Costco’s El Camino Real store in San Francisco is recalling over 9,000 rotisserie chicken units—over 39,000 pounds of chicken products—for potential Salmonella Heidelberg contamination in connection with the Foster Farms Salmonella outbreak. According to a press release, the products were sold directly to consumers in a Costco located at 1600 El Camino Real in San Francisco, Calif., between September 11 and 23, 2013.
Products subject to recall are:
• 8,730 “Kirkland Signature Foster Farms” rotisserie chickens
• 313 total units of “Kirkland Farm” rotisserie chicken soup, rotisserie chicken leg quarters, and rotisserie chicken salad
The recall announcement came after a group of individuals who fell ill with Salmonella Heidelberg infections reported that they had eaten rotisserie chicken products prepared in and purchased at the Costco El Camino Real store.
Epidemiologic and traceback investigations by FSIS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the California Department of Public Health and the County of San Mateo Public Health Department revealed the link between the Costco rotisserie chicken products and the Foster Farms Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak.
And, from Foster Farms:
No Recall is in Effect. Products are Safe to Consume if Properly Handled and Fully Cooked.
Tell that to Coscto members.