Gold Kist Stops Nugget Distribution

February 22, 2000

Gold Kist Inc., Atlanta, voluntarily has stopped distribution of nine lots of chicken nuggets because of possible listeria contamination. The nuggets were to have been distributed for the national School Lunch Program. The product tested was from an open package.

Margaret Glavin, associate administrator, Food Safety and Inspection Service, said since the product tested was from an open package, "we are following up by testing product from sealed packages to help determine whether the product was contaminated after the package was opened."

The nine lots involve about 114,000 pounds of products that were processed on Jan. 25 and shipped to warehouses in Ohio, Texas, Colorado, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania for use in the USDA School Lunch Program.

On Friday, the Ohio Department of Agriculture informed the Ohio Department of Education that one sample it tested indicated the presence of listeria. Listeria is eliminated in the normal cooking process.

A duplicate food sample and ambient air samples taken from the warehouses where the food was stored are being tested by the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Department officials said if the same strain of the bacterium was found in the air sample, it would suggest the source of contamination was not the chicken processing plant.