Nestle Recalls Lean Cuisine Baked Chicken Frozen Dinner

The USDA is concerned that some consumers may have this product in their freezers. If you do, either throw it away or return it to the store where you purchased it for a refund, both the USDA and Nestlé say.

The recall extends only to products that bear this single lot code, and the company reports that it has fixed the problem. Nestlé did not immediately respond to requests for information about where the product had been shipped.

Unfortunately, “foreign objects in food, especially processed food, is a relatively common occurrence,” says James E. Rogers, PhD, director of food safety research and testing at Consumer Reports. Conveyor belts and other equipment used in processing can become frayed or break, releasing fragments of plastic or other materials, such as rubber or metal, into the product.

“It is not usually caught by inspectors because it is so hard to see,” Rogers says. “Sadly, it is the consumer that is the ‘detector’ of foreign objects in food.”