Nestlé Prepared Foods collected more than 700,000 pounds of frozen Hot Pockets pepperoni, which may contain pieces of glass and rigid plastic, the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said on Friday.
The recall was issued after Nestlé received four complaints from consumers about “foreign materials” in pepperoni Hot Pockets, the Food Safety and Inspection Service said.
The company said in a press release on Friday that contaminated products “may present a risk of suffocation or laceration and should not be consumed”.
One consumer reported a “minor oral injury associated with the consumption of this product”, but there was no other report of injury or illness, said the Food Safety and Inspection Service.
The recall includes approximately 762,615 pounds of pepperoni Hot Pockets that were packaged in 54-ounce boxes containing 12 Hot Pockets with an expiration date of February 2022. The label says “Nestlé Hot Pockets brand sandwiches: Pepperoni Premium made with pork , chicken and meat pizza Buttery garlic crust. “
The collected Hot Pockets were produced from November 13 to 16 and shipped to stores across the country, the Food Safety and Inspection Service said.
“The quality, safety and integrity of Nestlé USA and Hot Pockets products remain our number 1 priority,” said Nestlé. “We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this action poses to our consumers and retail customers.”
Nestlé did not immediately respond to additional questions.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service said the Hot Pocket recall was considered Class 1, a high health risk “where there is a reasonable likelihood that using the product will cause serious and adverse health or death consequences.”
The service encouraged consumers to discard or return the product.
Nestlé acquired Chef America, which produced the Hot Pockets and Toaster Pizza snacks for microwaves, for $ 2.6 billion in 2002.