Costco recalls rotisserie chicken products in US over Salmonella concerns

A Costco wholesale store in south San Francisco, California, has recalled nearly 40,000lbs of rotisserie chicken products over concerns that they may be linked to illness caused by strains of Salmonella Heidelberg, the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced.

The products subject to recall include 8,730 ‘Kirkland Signature Foster Farms’ rotisserie chickens, and 313 units of ‘Kirkland Farm’ rotisserie chicken soup, rotisserie chicken leg quarters, and rotisserie chicken salad.

Costco’s El Camino Real store sold these products directly to consumers between 11 September and 23 September 2013.

There has been at least one reported illness associated with the consumption of one of the chain’s roasted chickens, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

The USDA and Foster Farms have advised consumers that salmonella-contaminated chicken is safe to eat as long as it is cooked to a minimum of 165°F.

In a phone interview, Costco food safety vice president Craig Wilson assured the publication that the product was "well-cooked".

"It may have been a very, very uncommon cross-contamination issue. We’re still researching," he added.

Wilson said that the retailer has contacted numerous customers who purchased one or more of the recalled products; however, so far no one else has reportedly fallen ill.

The latest recall comes after an alert by the FSIS last week about certain Foster Farms products as they may be contaminated with Salmonella Heidelberg.

The agency threatened to shut three Foster Farms facilities in California where the implicated products were produced; however, it chose not to after the company presented plans to resolve the food safety issues.

Since March, a Salmonella outbreak has sickened over 300 people across 20 states, with 232 cases of them having been reported from California.

This is the second outbreak involving Foster Farms in less than a year; the previous outbreak sickened 134 people in 13 states.

FSIS stated that it is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), public health partners in California and Costco on the investigation, and it will continue to provide information as it becomes available.