Beware of This Turkey Salmonella Outbreak
You never want to see a salmonella mass recall, but you especially don’t want to see a salmonella mass recall in turkey a week before Thanksgiving .
Jennie-O announced this week that it has recalled 91,000 pounds of turkey as part of the ongoing Salmonella outbreak, CBS reported . While Jenny-O was the last to make a recall, she is not the only company affected by the outbreak. The USDA said the outbreak is widespread and likely to affect a number of different manufacturers in the industry.
In Jennie-O’s case, the recall refers specifically to the one-pound packages of raw ground turkey that the company sold nationwide.
The good news is that the affected packages had an expiration date of October 1 or 2, so if you purchased one, chances are you’ve already used it (and hopefully haven’t gotten sick). However, there is a strong possibility that there are several contaminated packages currently stored in freezers.
Here’s what they remembered:
« Jennie-O Ground Turkey 93% SPEED | 7% FAT “with” Use until “dates from 01.10.2018 and 02.10.2018.
” Jennie-O Taco Ground Turkey ” with “Use By” date of 02/10/2018.
« Jennie-O Ground Turkey 85% SPEED | 15% FAT “with the” Use until “date from 02.10.2018.
” Jenny-O, Italian-style ground turkey ” with a “Use by” date of 10/02/2018.
So far, this particular outbreak has caused 164 reported illnesses in 35 states, as well as one death.
If you have a package of the turkey mince in question, you should discard it immediately. The outbreak is also a good reason to rethink food safety regulations in general.
If you are in charge of cooking turkey for a family meal this year, make sure you thaw the bird in the refrigerator and not on the counter, wash your hands thoroughly after handling the raw turkey, and make sure you cook it to an internal temperature of 165 degrees (to test you need a food thermometer). You should also make sure your leftovers reach the same temperature before you eat them.
CBS notes that cooking turkey at 165 core temperature can kill this particular strain of Salmonella, so if done right, everyone will stay healthy after dinner, even if your bird hasn’t set you up for success.