The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a public health alert for frozen chicken nuggets sold by Oklahoma-based Dorada Foods as the products could be contaminated with “unsafe levels of lead,” the agency said in an April 1 announcement.
The warning is applicable to ready-to-eat chicken nuggets sold by the company in 29-oz. plastic bags under the name “Great Value Fully Cooked Dino Shaped Chicken Breast Nuggets.” The item, manufactured on Feb. 10, comes with the lot code 0416DPO1215 and has a “Best If Used By” date of Feb. 10, 2027, FSIS said.
The products were shipped and sold at Walmart locations across the United States. Great Value is a primary private-label brand of Walmart.
“Lead is especially dangerous for pregnant women, infants, and young children because it can harm developing brains and nervous systems, sometimes causing lasting problems. There is no safe amount of lead exposure,” FSIS warned.
“Guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration provide an interim reference level (IRL) of 2.2 micrograms. The amount of lead found in these nuggets could be as much as five times higher than this IRL for children. Health experts also say these nuggets may be a risk for women who are pregnant or who could become pregnant.”
In a January 2025 post, the Food and Drug Administration warned that lead toxicity can affect people of any age and health status.
The most serious health impacts of lead exposure occur during times of active brain development, which makes children vulnerable to such toxicity.
According to the FDA, if a child were exposed to high levels of lead during early childhood, infancy, or even in utero, it can result in neurological consequences such as lowered IQ, behavior difficulties, and learning disabilities.
“The very young are particularly vulnerable to the potential harmful effects from lead exposure because of their smaller body sizes and rapid metabolism and growth. For adults, chronic lead exposure is associated with kidney dysfunction, hypertension, and neurocognitive effects,” the FDA said.
According to the FSIS announcement, the lead contamination issue was discovered during a routine surveillance sampling of the nuggets conducted by a state partner.
FSIS did not seek a recall of the affected products since the items were no longer available for purchase at stores, the agency said.
However, “FSIS is concerned that some product may be in consumers’ freezers. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” it said.
The Epoch Times reached out to Dorada Foods and Walmart for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.
In an April 2024 report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that lead exposure in children is most often difficult to identify since they typically do not display any obvious immediate symptoms.
Parents should watch out for whether their children show slowed growth and development, learning and behavior issues, hearing and speech difficulties, or damage to the brain and nervous system. High levels of lead have been found in other products, like popular infant formulas.
Many factors affect how a child’s body handles the ingested lead, including their age, the length of time for which they were exposed, and other underlying health conditions. If a parent believes their child has been exposed to lead, they should consult a health care provider and potentially get their kid’s blood tested for lead presence, the CDC said.
“Healthcare providers and most local health departments can test for lead in the blood. Many private insurance policies cover the cost of testing for lead in the blood. The cost of blood lead testing for children enrolled in Medicaid is covered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,” the agency said.
Update: Federal officials have since retracted this health alert following an investigation that failed to substantiate the concerns.