Cargill has recalled around 36m pounds of fresh and frozen ground turkey products as an investigation into a fatal salmonella outbreak in the US continues.
The US food giant said the recall was made after an internal investigation and following information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on a probe into the outbreak of salmonella heidelberg, which has been linked to ground turkey.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The CDC said on Monday (1 August) that is was working with the US Department of Agriculture to investigate an outbreak of salmonella infections across 26 states, which have killed one person and made over 70 ill.
Cargill said yesterday that it has suspended production of ground turkey products at its processing facility in Springdale in Arkansas, while it looks into the source of the salmonella and takes corrective actions. Other turkey products produced at Springdale are not part of the recall, it added.
Cargill owns four turkey processing facilities in the US and it said no products from the other three are involved in the recall.
“Suspending production until we can determine the source of the salmonella heidelberg at our Arkansas facility, and take corrective action, is the right thing to do,” said Cargill president of turkey processing Steve Willardsen. “We are closely examining every aspect of our production process and have identified enhancements to our procedures in our efforts to ensure safe food. Eliminating food borne illness is always our goal.”
Products included in the recall were produced at the site from 20 February 2011 through 2 August.
For more information on those products, click here.
