Costco recalls 40,000 pounds of chicken products

Costco's South San Francisco store recalled about 40,000 pounds of rotisserie chicken products that may have Salmonella Heidelberg, officials say. Officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said the products were 8,730 Kirkland Signature Foster Farms rotisserie chickens and 313 units of "Kirkland Farm" rotisserie chicken soup, rotisserie chicken leg quarters and rotisserie chicken salad. The products were sold directly to consumers in a Costco located in South San Francisco between Sept. 11-23. The recall by the members-only, discount warehouse club was initiated due to concerns about a group of Salmonella Heidelberg illnesses that might be associated with the consumption of rotisserie chicken products prepared in and purchased at the Costco store. The pattern associated with this outbreak is rarely found in the United States, health officials said. FSIS, working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the California Department of Public Health and the San Mateo County Public Health Department, determined through epidemiological and trace-back investigations that there was a link between the Costco El Camino Real rotisserie chicken products and this illness outbreak. FSIS further reminded consumers poultry products should be cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165° F as determined by a food thermometer. Using a food thermometer is the only way to know that food has reached a high enough temperature to destroy food-borne bacteria.