after the company issued a recall when it found products were undercooked and may cause food borne illnesses such as salmonella.

The affected products were shipped to the Island and wholesaler Butterfield & Vallis is advising consumers to check products they may have and return recalled chicken to the point of sale for a full refund.

In total five Tyson products produced at the company's Arkansas plant were recalled, however Butterfield & Vallis said that only two of these products made it to the Island.

The recalled Tyson items sold locally are boxed Southern Style Breast Tenderloins and Crispy Chicken Strips, which are sold in a bag.

Butterfield & Vallis general manager Ed Sousa told the Royal Gazette that the products were relatively new and only sold in two grocery chains -- Marketplace and Lindo's.

Consumers should check their products for the item code which is found on the bar code. Affected products will read 02362 and 03803 in the second set of five digits listed on the bar code.

Butterfield & Vallis began their own local recall procedures after their computer sales system identified the stores selling affected products.

Mr. Sousa said the recalled products wouldn't be on island grocery shelves today and won't be there until new, unaffected products come to the island, if there is a demand.

Tyson issued the recall voluntarily after its internal quality control testers found "the product may contain folded or large overlapped pieces that were not fully cooked as the label states,'' the company said in its press release.

At this stage, no illnesses have been reported as a result of these products.

Dr. Brenda Davidson of the Health Department said salmonella was among the most serious of problems which can arise from eating undercooked chicken.

"It causes diarrhoea and vomiting, basically gastroenteritis,'' she said.

"It can be quite severe.'' Any batch of suspect meat should not be held on to, she said. In addition to the danger of salmonella poisoning from eating affected meat, Dr. Davidson said it can be passed on to other people through hand contact with people who have touched the meat.

She advised that people strictly adhere to normal methods of handling chicken and pay careful attention to proper defrosting, hand washing and cooking. Dr.

Davidson, who had not yet been informed of the recall, said that there were other bacteria that could be involved in the container process and cause problems but that without knowing the details of the recall she could not be specific.

"Any unexpected illness which could be attributed to something eaten should be reported, so that we can investigate it and limit the damage to other people,'' she added.

The recalled chicken was manufactured in Tyson's Chick'n'Quick plant in Rogers, Arkansas between December 19, 2000 and February 16.

Chicken packaged at the plant can be identified by the number P7221 on the box or bag. In addition to Bermuda and the United States, affected products were shipped to Bahrain, Cayman Islands, Guyana, Indonesia, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia and St. Martin.

In total, 1,040 tonnes of Tyson cooked chicken has been recalled.