Prepared chicken: four brands recalled for salmonella in France, check your fridge and freezer

Affected?

You bought, between 8 and 14 September, pre-packed prepared chicken under the brands Le Gaulois, Corico, L’Atelier de nos Régions or Les Prêts à Cuisiner: chopped chicken fillets or thighs, roulades, chicken and vegetable burgers, breaded chopped thighs. Anywhere in France. Shops, from the lists of points of sale attached to the notices: Leclerc, Intermarché, Netto and U (Le Gaulois, L’Atelier de nos Régions); Carrefour and independent shops (Corico); a fresh-produce store network, not named on the notice (Les Prêts à Cuisiner).

The evidence

RappelConso, the French government’s official recall site, published four notices on 18 September. Same reason on each: suspected Salmonella Typhimurium. All four were filed by the same manufacturer, Guillot Cobreda according to the RappelConso notices, under the same health mark (FR 71 158 001 CE), with two batches shared by two brands. The recall is “voluntary”: the manufacturer initiated it; no order from the authorities was needed.

The use-by dates run from 18 to 22 September. A tray may still be in your fridge today; frozen, it still carries the problem: freezing stops the bacteria from multiplying, it does not kill them.

Compare with your tray: code under the barcode (GTIN) and batch, printed next to the use-by date. RappelConso notices are in French; the codes are what matters.

Codes to check

The last 4 digits of your code or batch

Le Gaulois2 chopped chicken filletsSold : sold 8 to 11 SeptemberShow codes

• Code under the barcode (GTIN)3 266980 033477Copy
  Batches

  • 0416015611

  Use-by date 18 to 22 September

Corico2 chopped fillets, 4 mustard roulades, 2 chopped thighs, 2 chicken and vegetable burgers, 4 Mediterranean rouladesSold : sold 9 to 14 SeptemberShow codes

• Code under the barcode (GTIN)3 296560 002623Copy
  Batches

  • 0416015683

  Use-by date 18 September

• Code under the barcode (GTIN)3 296560 005372Copy
  Batches

  • 0416015837

  Use-by date 19 to 20 September

• Code under the barcode (GTIN)3 296560 005440Copy
  Batches

  • 0416015614

  Use-by date 18 to 20 September

• Code under the barcode (GTIN)3 296560 005525Copy
  Batches

  • 0416015635

  Use-by date 19 September

• Code under the barcode (GTIN)3 296560 469693Copy
  Batches

  • 0416015670

  Use-by date 18 to 20 September

L’Atelier de nos RégionsChicken and vegetable burger, pack of twoSold : sold 9 to 11 SeptemberShow codes

• Code under the barcode (GTIN)3 296560 005518Copy
  Batches

  • 0416015635

  Use-by date 18 to 20 September

Les Prêts à Cuisiner2 chopped fillets, 2 breaded chopped thighs (180 g tray)Sold : sold 8 to 11 SeptemberShow codes

• Code under the barcode (GTIN)3 296560 000872Copy
  Batches

  • 0416015544
  • 0416015604
  • 0416015683

  Use-by date 18 September (batch 0416015544), 18 to 19 September (batch 0416015604), 19 to 21 September (batch 0416015683)

• Code under the barcode (GTIN)3 296560 004276Copy
  Batches

  • 0416015656
  • 0416015721

  Use-by date 18 September

I have a matching code: what now?

The notices give no number of trays and mention no illness, but they never do: that is not proof of absence.

The risk

Salmonella causes sudden gastroenteritis: diarrhoea, vomiting, often fever and headache, usually 6 hours to 3 days after the meal. For most adults it is very unpleasant and passes. For a baby, a pregnant woman, an older or immunocompromised person, it may need medical care.

Chopped chicken: the bacteria are throughout the whole mass, which is why the French food safety agency (Anses) insists on cooking it right through. Cooking above 65 °C kills the bacteria, but the official instruction remains: do not eat it.

What to do now

1. Open your fridge and freezer. Look for these four brands and compare code and batch with the list above.
2. Affected product: do not cook it, do not give it away. Seal it in a bag, wash your hands: nothing must contaminate the fridge.
3. Take it back to the shop. Refund provided for in all four notices, no form and no receipt required; keep the tray, it proves the batch. Manufacturer’s number (Le Gaulois notice): 02 43 62 64 15 (+33 2 43 62 64 15 from abroad), Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 8:45 to 12:45 and 13:30 to 15:30, in French (the other notices refer you to the shop).
4. You or someone close ate it? No symptoms 7 days after the meal means no need to worry: that is the official guidance. Otherwise see a doctor and mention the recalled product; do not wait for a baby, an older, pregnant or immunocompromised person, or if there is blood in the stool, a high fever or dehydration.
5. Send this article to someone who cooks for children or grandparents.