Bad Turkey: Salmonella Prompts Recall of More Than 180,000 Pounds of Ground Turkey Products

Cargill Meat Solutions issued a precautionary, voluntary and limited ground turkey recall on Sunday after a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection found a contamination of Salmonella Heidelberg.

The company recalled approximately 185,000 pounds of 85 percent lean fresh ground turkey products that were produced at their Springdale facility.

Turkey products specifically produced on Aug. 23, 24, 30 and 31 are being recalled.

The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) listed the recalled products on its Web site.

Different products within the categories of Fresh Ground Turkey Chubs, Fresh Ground Turkey Trays, and Fresh Ground Turkey Patties have been recalled.

The same strain of Salmonella had already prompted an earlier recall on Aug. 3. The discovery that prompted this recall was made during a post-recall inspection.

No illnesses are known to have happened.

The company said in a press release that they have suspended production of ground turkey products at the Springdale location.

Out of an abundance of caution, we are acting quickly in response to USDA's sample testing, president of Cargill's turkey processing business Steve Willardsen said in a company press release. Although there are no known illnesses associated with this positive sample, it is the same Salmonella Heidelberg strain that resulted in our voluntary recall on Aug. 3, 2011. As a result of this latest USDA test result, we have suspended ground turkey production at our Arkansas facility until additional measures can be identified, approved by USDA, then implemented, which is similar to the process we previously employed when working with the agency.

The FSIS said the health risk was high and classified the recall as Class I, which is described as a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.

The FSIS advises consumers with questions about food safety to visit AskKaren.gov or to call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-674-6854.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that the majority of people who contract Salmonella get diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps anywhere from 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness typically lasts from four to seven days, but people whose diarrhea is especially severe may require hospitalization and antibiotics.

Infants, elderly persons and people with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe case of Salmonella.