Cargill is Back Producing Ground Turkey

This post may interest those consumers who want to know more about what happens after a large food product recall in the U.S.

If the inspectors find contamination in the processing plant, and large amounts of product have to be recalled, it can mean the end of a small company. Larger ones can usually weather the storm - and the expense and negative publicity involved. Part of that expense is cleanup of the plant, as required by government regulators. Production of the recalled product, and sometimes of others as well, will have to be stopped until food safety is improved.

Cargill (Cargill Meat Solutions Corp.) provides an example. In August and September of this year (end of the summer, 2011) this huge company had a large ground turkey recall because of Salmonella contamination. The turkey had been processed at their Springdale, Arkansas facility. Several brands were affected: including Honeysuckle White, Shady Brook Farms, Riverside, Aldi Fit & Active, Giant Eagle, HEB, Kroger and Safeway.

After discovery of Salmonella at the plant, ground turkey production was suspended (another one in Virginia kept making it). Over the next few months, the company undertook a thorough cleanup and set up new and better quality and testing standards, including:

• Addition of more bacteria reduction steps, including before the turkey is ground.
• Improvement of the process control monitoring system
• Increase of the number and frequency of tests for Salmonella.
• Establishment of high pressure processing, to further reduce numbers of Salmonella.
• Training of workers in the new procedures.

Cargill now says that their new safety measures at the Springdale plant are the best in the industry. Cargill food safety specialists and USDA inspectors are also reportedly present for each and every shift at the plant.

So why didn't they have these measures before the outbreak which would have avoided a lot of misery to consumers - and, to the company? You know the answer: they cost money.

Cargill expects their turkey to be back in the stores soon. And, my guess is that at least part of the cost of increased safety will be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices.

To your good health,

TSF

REPLAY: CARGILL TURKEY CONTAMINATED AGAIN

A particularly vicious strain of Salmonella bacteria was found in Arkansas-based Cargill Meat Solutions' ground turkey products about a month ago. This resulted in a large recall of a range of turkey products (see earlier posts). Now there is another outbreak at the same meat processing facility. It looks as though it is the same bacteria. There's also another recall of 185,000 pounds of ground turkey products by the company. Again, the turkey meat was distributed nationwide in the U.S.

The products involved include several fresh ground turkey chubs, fresh ground turkey trays, and fresh ground turkey patties, all produced at the end of August. The retail distribution list(s) will be posted on FSIS' website at www.fsis.usda.gov/FSIS_Recalls/
Open_Federal_Cases/index.asp. If you think you may have bought some, consult it.

So why is there another outbreak in meat from the same company so soon after the last one? The simple reason - the source of the contamination has not yet been identified. Yes, of course the US Department of Agriculture has done all kinds of testing, and the company has tried to clean up the facility. The usual. But obviously, they haven't succeeded. This sort of situation is not uncommon at all. It's not easy to find the culprit piece of equipment, ventilator duct, plant worker, or whatever.

If you want to be really safe, I suggest that you avoid all ground turkey products from this company for a month or two - even those that are not presently being recalled. Let's get a good "all clear" from the USDA before we go back to eating them.

To your good health,
TSF

RECALL OF THE CONTAMINATED GROUND TURKEY IN CALIFORNIA

I have noticed that a lot of my California-based blog readers are wondering where the recently recalled Cargill ground turkey was sold here (see previous posts). People are particularly concerned - rightly so - because this is not just any old meat recall. It involves a Salmonella bacteria which is multi-drug resistant. That is the type of bacteria we all fear most, whether it be a Stahylococcus, Streptococcus, E.coli, or Salmonella. And, it is also the type of bacteria that is increasingly cropping up as antibiotics are overused, including at sub-therapeutic levels in poultry and meat production.

The California Department of Health (CDPH) has now put out a list of places where these recalled meat products were sold. It is paying particular attention to this nationwide recall, since several illnesses and the one death, have occurred in California (above see map).

The California stores involved in the recall include: WinCo, Food4Less, Foodsco, Stater Brothers Markets, Ralph's, Ralph's Fresh Fair, and Cala (only in San Francisco). I say "include" because who knows, more may be added to the list.

The products bore brand names of Kroger, Honeysuckle White and Riverside (see earlier posts for the products recalled). They were sold in many parts of California. The list of towns and cities is too long to include here but can be accessed on the Excel spread sheet provided by CDPH: see http://www.cdph.ca.gov/pubsforms/Documents/fdbFrCMSd.xls (or, search on cdph.ca.gov for Cargill turkey recall). The list includes store addresses and telephone numbers which allows you to call them if you have any questions.

But remember that these potentially dangerous products have now been taken off the market. At least we hope so (besides, their Best by date has expired). And, as I have said before, just because pathogenic bacteria are found in significant numbers in a few items does not mean that they are present in every single package bought.

To your good health,
TSF