ConAgra Foods, manufacturer of Marie Callender's cheesy chicken and rice frozen dinners, is recalling the meals--there could be a link between the Marie Callender's dinners and Salmonella poisoning outbreaks in 14 U.S. states, announces the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Currently 29 people have become ill from Salmonella poisoning, eight reportedly ate the Marie Callender's meals in April or May of 2010. The meals labeled "Marie Callender's Cheesy Chicken and Rice White Meat Chicken and Broccoli over Rice Topped with Rich Cheddar Sauce" are being recalled en masse-regardless of production date stamped on the product package.
This marks the second high-profile Salmonella poisoning issue and recall for ConAgra Foods: three years ago in 2007, Con Agra's Peter Pan brand of peanut butter was tied to at least 625 Salmonella cases with outbreak in nearly every U.S. state (47 of them to be exact). Simultaneously, Con Agra's Banquet pot pies dinners were connected to at least 400 Salmonella outbreak cases in more than 41 U.S. states.