An outbreak of headache or gastrointestinal irritation occurred abruptly at two Illinois schools shortly after lunch was served on November 25. The students reported that the chicken tenders smelled unusual. Eating chicken tenders was associated with illness, and ammonia was detected in the chicken tenders. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) supplied the State of Illinois with commodity bulk chicken for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The chicken was processed into "tenders" by a commercial chicken producer and retailer. Illinois contracted with the Lanter Company to store and deliver the tenders to schools in Illinois. Lanter stored the tenders at a frozen food storage facility in St. Louis, Missouri, operated by Gateway Cold Storage, (Gateway). On November 18, there had been a large anhydrous ammonia leak at the Gateway facility. At the time of the leak, a USDA compliance officer was on site, and aware of the leak. According to the various health agencies that later became involved, the USDA did not notify any other agency of the leak. Likewise, the USDA apparently took no steps to curtail or stop shipping of foods from the facility, despite the leak.