Written by: Conner Khauv
What Happened?
From 2017 to 2019, a variety of turkey products became contaminated with a strain of salmonella that was causing consumers to become ill. The strain was found in raw turkey products, raw turkey pet food, and live turkeys. Many turkey products were recalled in caution of being contaminated with salmonella. It was unknown if a single supplier of the turkey products was responsible, making it possible that several suppliers and facilities were the root of the outbreak.
Recalled Products
Ground turkey products from Jennie-O Turkey Store Sales, LLC in both Faribault, Minnesota and Barron, Wisconsin recalled around a total of 311,486 raw ground turkey products occurring from November to December of 2018. Pet food products containing turkey from Woody’s Pet Food Deli in Minnesota recalled their raw turkey pet food on January 28, 2019 while Raws for Paws in Minneapolis, Minnesota recalled around 4,000 lbs of ground turkey pet food on February 5, 2018.
Impact on Population
Due to the salmonella turkey outbreak, 358 people from 42 states became infected with the salmonella strain. Of those infected, 133 of them were hospitalized for symptoms of salmonella and 1 death was reported in California. The last reported case occurred on March 31, 2019.
Symptoms of Salmonella
The symptoms of salmonella usually occur between 12 and 72 hours after being exposed to and ingesting the salmonella bacteria. Symptoms may include diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. Salmonella may last from 4 to 7 days and does not require treatment. Rarely does salmonella cause death in an individual.
How to Handle Raw Turkey
When handling raw turkey, wash your hands before and after handling the products to prevent person to person spread. After finishing the preparation of raw turkey, avoid spreading germs from the raw turkey products around food preparation areas by using warm and soapy water to clean hands, counters, cutting boards, and utensils that contact raw turkey. Whilst cooking turkey, an internal temperature of 165°F should be achieved to kill harmful bacteria. It is advised to not feed raw pet food to pets.
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