A consignment of chicken destined for The Gambia was recalled in Brazil over salmonella contamination.

Brazilian food processor BRF SA said on Wednesday that a decision to recall fresh chicken products due to possible salmonella contamination affected nine export destinations.

BRF recalled 299.6 tonnes of chicken products destined for markets overseas and 164.7 tonnes of fresh chicken for sale in the domestic market.

A spokeswoman told Reuters that the recalled products were destined for markets including The Gambia, Japan, China, Kuwait, Ghana, Bahrain, Oman, Angola and Cuba.

BRF said the decision to recall all batches, instead of affected parts of the production, follows the precautionary principle and its commitment to food safety, quality, and transparency. The firm has started the inventory and collection of products either en-route or with clients in domestic and international markets.

It has deployed specialists to investigate origins of the case to ensure appropriate measures are taken to avoid a reoccurrence. Investigations found contamination occurred on a specific production line and there is no evidence other days before or after the dates mentioned above are affected.

Production at the plant is under a hold and release procedure to guarantee it was a one off problem and will not happen again. This means production at the site is released for commercialization only after lab tests confirm quality of the products.

BRF still has some poultry plants banned by the European Union following a Brazilian police investigation into alleged bribery of health officials in the sector in 2017.

Salmonellosis is a disease caused by the bacteria Salmonella. Onset of symptoms occurs six to 72 hours (usually 12–36 hours) after ingestion of Salmonella, and illness lasts two to seven days.