Butterball Recalls A Bunch Of Turkey, But It Shouldn't Impact Thanksgiving

Butterball, the poultry company best known for its frozen turkeys, has announced a new turkey product recall over potential contamination with plastic. The announcement comes only a few weeks ahead of Thanksgiving, but shouldn't impact turkey availability for the holiday — the issue impacts ground turkey products, not whole birds.

According to the recall notice, the ground turkey products are being recalled due to the potential presence of blue plastic pieces mixed in with the meat. The issue was discovered after multiple complaints from consumers, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) revealed.

The recall covers ground turkey sold in 2.5lb and 3lb trays, one sold under the name "Farm to Family Butterball All Natural Ground Turkey" and the other under "Kroger Ground Turkey." Both products were produced on September 28, though the identifying details vary based on which product you purchased.

The recalled Kroger-brand turkey has a "sell or freeze by" date of October 17, 2021, as well as 2314 through 2351 timestamps on the packaging. The products also contain the case code 50211272. The Butterball-brand turkey, meanwhile, has a "sell or freeze by" date of October 18, 2021, with timestamps of 2123 through 2302 on the packages.

In addition, consumers can look for the establishment number "EST. P-7345" in the USDA inspection mark to identify the recalled units. As with other recalls, the USDA says that anyone who has these turkey products should either throw them away uneaten or return them to the store from which they were purchased for a refund.