Check Your Trader Joe's Chicken Fried Rice For This Dangerous Recall Reason

If you were recently shopping for Trader Joe's customer-favorite deals, you'll want to double-check your freezer to make sure it's not housing the store's latest item to be recalled. On February 19, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that over 3 million pounds of chicken fried rice from TJ's freezer section is subject to a "Class 1" recall due to foreign material potentially being present in the product. Foreign material can mean many different things, but in this case, it's as bad as it sounds: glass.

Ajinomoto Foods North America, Inc., based in Portland, Oregon, produces the frozen food, with some of it being shipped to Trader Joe's in the U.S., and the rest being sent to Canada. The recalled frozen chicken fried rice comes in 20-ounce plastic bags with best by dates between 9/08/26 and 11/17/26. The packages also have the code P-18356 stamped inside the USDA inspection mark. Anyone in possession of the frozen food is warned to either throw it out or return it to the place of purchase. Trader Joe's has offered to fully refund anyone who bought the product from its stores.

Whereas recalls involving undeclared milk, or failing to disclose that an item was produced around nuts, impacts folks with specific food allergies or sensitivities, shards of glass spare no one. Not only do they pose a choking hazard, but sharp edges have the potential to cause devastating injuries in the throat, stomach, and beyond. People in possession of food recalled for undeclared dairy, who won't be affected, might be tempted to go ahead and consume it. But nobody of sound mind should be taking any chances with Trader Joe's recalled chicken fried rice.

Despite being brought to the attention of the FSIS by customers who discovered glass in the product, no one has reported injuries due to ingesting the foreign material as of yet. Anyone with questions about the recall are encouraged to call Trader Joe's Customer Relations at (626) 599-3817, or reach out by email via the chain's product feedback form. While it may not be one of the strangest recalls ever issued, the danger posed to individuals who purchased the chicken fried rice makes it worth taking seriously.