The Devastating 2007 Pot Pie Recall That Sent Over 100 People To The Hospital

It's often the case that when a food recall is issued it's primarily a precautionary measure. A company realizes they somehow goofed up and institutes a recall of tainted merchandise before anyone becomes ill. Unfortunately, sometimes products are only pulled from store shelves once people start getting sick. Such was the case with Banquet Chicken Pot Pies in 2007, when over 400 occurrences of Salmonella poisoning were documented as a result of folks consuming the contaminated frozen food.

Of 401 documented instances of people affected by the tainted Banquet pot pies produced by ConAgra Foods, 108 were hospitalized after becoming ill. A total of 41 states were impacted in the subsequent recall of the contaminated products. Perhaps the most tragic part of the story is that most of those who became sick could have prevented it if they had cooked the pies all the way through.

People who became sick indicated that the microwave directions on the package were confusing. One area instructed folks to cook the product one way, yet another section provided different instructions. To further complicate what is typically a straightforward process, some of the cooking directions differed based on the wattage used to heat the pot pies. Whether people were confused or just trying not to burn their store-bought pot pies, the resulting Salmonella infections put ConAgra in hot water.

The Banquet pot pie recall may not have impacted as many people as the Costco recalls that affected millions, but it was a devastating event for those who became ill. And although folks could have avoided their fate by cooking the frozen food all the way through, they also could have been made aware of the contaminated products sooner than they were. The CDC announced the pot pies were making people sick on October 9, 2007, yet ConAgra held off on immediately recalling the product.

Two days later, on October 11, the law firm Marler Clark filed a lawsuit against ConAgra. Only then did the company finally admit there was a problem and issue a voluntary recall. Marler Clark ended up filing six Salmonella lawsuits in total over the contaminated food product. 

It's worth noting that although the preparation instructions on the package may have been confusing, many of those who got sick disregarded them altogether. Some ignored the direction to let the product sit for a specified amount of time after cooking. Others attempted to cook more than one pot pie at a time. There is a lesson here for people who purchase frozen food in bulk. While most companies will do their best to make the public aware of any health concerns regarding their food, not all will do so in a timely manner. Frozen, microwavable meals have a history of being potentially hazardous when they aren't thoroughly cooked. It's imperative that any frozen meal reaches a safe internal temperature before enjoying it to avoid getting sick or worse.