Foster Farms issued an official recall Thursday, following a salmonella outbreak that spanned 16 months, and reportedly stemmed from some of the company's chicken products.
The pull back was prompted by a 10-year-old California child's hospitalization after eating a package of the contaminated poultry, according to The Los Angeles Times. The recall pertains to packages that have "use or freeze by" dates of March 21 to March 29, company officials said.
524 people in 25 states fell ill after consuming the chicken.
A spokesman for The Food Safety and Inspection Service said the agency "now has conclusive evidence directly linking Foster Farms product."
"This recall is prompted by a single illness associated with specific fresh chicken product, but in the fullest interest of food safety, Foster Farms has broadened the recall to encompass all products packaged at that time," a Foster Farms representative added. "Foster Farms regrets any illness associated with its products."
"It should be noted that while no illness is ever acceptable, the time period for this issue was over the course of six months from March to mid-September," CEO Ron Foster told the Associated Press.
Cases were linked to chicken products made at three Foster Farms California plants, according to company officials. Three facilities were also almost closed after inspectors detected traces of Salmonella. The affected products had the following numbers: P6137, P6137A or P7632.
Prior to the recall, Foster Farms advised consumers follow the Poultry ABCs of food safety to prevent Salmonella-related illness. The guidelines included properly cleaning cutting boards and carefully handling raw meat.
