✅ UPDATE — April 7, 2026: THIS RECALL HAS BEEN RETRACTED. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has retracted the public health alert originally issued on April 1, 2026, for Great Value Fully Cooked Dino Shaped Chicken Breast Nuggets. Follow-up laboratory testing confirmed the initial lead result was a false positive caused by sporadic lead contamination at the laboratory during analysis — not contamination of the product itself. This product is safe to consume. See the full retraction: FSIS Retracts Public Health Alert for Frozen, Ready-to-Eat Chicken Nuggets Due to Updated Laboratory Result.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a public health alert on April 1, 2026, for frozen, dinosaur-shaped, ready-to-eat (RTE) chicken nugget products that may have been contaminated with unsafe levels of lead.
This alert was subsequently retracted on April 7, 2026 — see the update above.
The alert was originally issued because routine surveillance sampling conducted by the New York State Department of Public Health indicated elevated trace levels of lead. Because this product is commonly consumed by children, FSIS issued the alert to inform consumers of a potential risk.
The recalled product included the lot code, establishment number, and “Best If Used By” date printed on the back of the bag:
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Description
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Net Weight
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Lot Code
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Best If Used By Date
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Est. No.
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Great Value Fully Cooked Dino Shaped Chicken Breast Nuggets
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29 oz. (approx. 36 pieces)
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0416DPO1215
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FEB 10 2027
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P-44164
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Following the original alert, additional sampling was conducted by the New York State Department of Public Health and the producing establishment, Dorada Foods. All follow-up testing — including retesting of the original lot — found
no elevated levels of lead in the product. FSIS, in coordination with the New York State Department of Health, determined that the initial positive result was caused by sporadic lead contamination at the laboratory during analysis, not contamination of the product itself.
FSIS has concluded that the product does not pose a public health concern, and the product may be sold and consumed as usual.
Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at
1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) or send a question via email to
MPHotline@usda.gov. For consumers that need to report a problem with a meat, poultry, or egg product, the online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at
https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/.
For more information, visit the primary source:
FSIS Retracts Public Health Alert for Frozen, Ready-to-Eat Chicken Nuggets Due to Updated Laboratory Result (FSIS PHA-04012026-01 — Retracted April 7, 2026).
