Chicken, pork tamales containing diced tomatoes recalled

If you’re planning to have tamales for Thanksgiving, you may want to rethink those plans.

An Arizona company is recalling ready-to-eat chicken and pork tamale products containing FDA-regulated diced tomatoes in puree because of concerns that the products may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically hard plastic, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture news release Sunday.

The agency’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said the hard plastic may pose a choking hazard or cause damage to teeth or gums.

The frozen RTE chicken and pork tamale items were produced between Oct. 22, 2020, and Nov. 9, 2020, by Tucson Tamale Wholesale Co., a company in Tucson, Ariz.

The agency said the following products are subject to the public health alert:

— Cases containing eight individually packed tamales with the labels “TUCSON TAMALE GREEN CHILE CHICKEN TAMALE” or “TUCSON TAMALE Green Chile Chicken Tamales” with lot codes F20296 and F20309 and sell by dates of 10/23/22 and 11/05/22.

— Cases containing six packages with two tamales each of “TUCSON TAMALE GREEN CHILE CHICKEN TAMALES” with lot codes F20309 and F20296 and sell by dates of 10/23/22 and 11/05/22.

— Cases containing 30 tamales of “TUCSON TAMALE Green Chile Pork & Cheese Tamales” with lot codes F20303 and F20307 and sell by dates of 10/30/22 and 11/03/22.

— Cases containing eight individually packed tamales of “TUCSON TAMALE GREEN CHILE PORK & CHEESE TAMALE” with lot codes F20307 and F20314 and sell by dates of 11/03/22 and 11/10/22.

— Cases containing six packages with two tamales each of “TUCSON TAMALE GREEN CHILE PORK & CHEESE TAMALES” with lot codes F20303 and F20307 and sell by dates 10/30/22 and 11/03/22.

— Packages containing two tamales of “TUCSON TAMALE GREEN CHILE PORK & CHEESE TAMALES” with lot codes F20303, F20307 and F20302 and sell by dates of 10/29/22, 10/30/22 and 11/03/22.

— Cases containing 30 tamales of “TUCSON TAMALE Green Chile Chicken Tamales” with lot code F20296 and sell by date of 10/23/22.

The products bear establishment number “EST. 45860” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were sold online and also shipped to distributors for further distribution to retail locations and restaurants nationwide.

The agency said there have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of the products.

Consumers with questions about the recall can call Tucson Tamale Wholesale Co. at (520) 398-6282.

Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday.