Category: Salmonella

Cargill Recalls 36 Million Pounds of Ground Turkey

Cargill has announced an immediate recall of fresh and frozen ground turkey meat produced at its Springdale, Arkansas production facility from February 20, 2011 through August 2nd.

The turkey meat, which may be contaminated with Salmonella Heidelberg, is being recalled as a result of Cargill’s “...internal investigation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) information that became available on Aug. 1, 2011, as well as an ongoing USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) investigation into multiple illnesses from Salmonella Heidelberg.”

Cargill’s recall announcement continues as follows:

Additionally, Cargill has suspended production of ground turkey products at its Springdale, Ark., turkey processing facility until it is able to determine the source of the Salmonella Heidelberg and take corrective actions. Other turkey products produced at Springdale are not part of the recall. Cargill owns four turkey processing facilities in the U.S. and no products from the other three are involved in the recall.

“While facts continue to be gathered, and currently there is no conclusive answer regarding the source of Salmonella Heidelberg contamination, given our concern for what has happened, and our desire to do what is right for our consumers and customers, we are voluntarily removing our ground turkey products from the marketplace,” said Steve Willardsen, president of Cargill’s turkey processing business. “Additionally, we have suspended ground turkey production at our Arkansas facility until the source can be pinpointed and actions to address it are taken. Public health and the safety of consumers cannot be compromised. It is regrettable that people may have become ill from eating one of our ground turkey products and, for anyone who did, we are truly sorry. We go to great lengths to ensure the food we produce is safe and we fully understand that people expect to be able to consume safe food, each serving, every time.”

“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,” stated 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.”

 Here is a complete list of the recalled products, as provided by Cargill:

The products involved are Ground Turkey. All packages include Est. P-963 on the label. Products are listed below:

Ground Turkey Chubs – Use or Freeze by Dates of 2/20/11 through 8/23/11

  • 10 lbs. Chubs of Honeysuckle White Fresh Natural Lean Ground Turkey with Natural Flavorings
  • 10 lbs. Chubs of Unbranded Ground Turkey w/ Natural Flavoring 2 Pack
  • 80 oz. (5 lbs.) chubs of Riverside Ground Turkey with Natural Flavoring
  • 10 lb. Chub of Natural Lean Ground Turkey with Natural Flavorings
  • 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Fresh Lean HEB Ground Turkey 93/7
  • 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Fresh HEB Ground Turkey 85/15
  • 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Honeysuckle White 93/7 Fresh Ground Turkey with Natural Flavoring
  • 4-1 Pound Packages of Honeysuckle White Ground Turkey with Natural Flavoring Value Pack
  • 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Fresh Ground Turkey
  • 48 oz. (3 lb.) chubs of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Fresh Ground Turkey

85% Ground Turkey – Use or Freeze by Dates of 2/20/11 through 8/23/11

  • 19.2 oz. (1.2 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey
  • 19.2 oz. (1.2 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White Taco Seasoned Ground Turkey Colored with Paprika
  • 20 oz. (1 lb. 4 oz.) trays of Safeway Fresh Ground Turkey with Natural Flavorings * 15% Fat
  • 19.2 oz. (1 lb. 3.2 oz.) trays of Kroger Ground Turkey Fresh 85/15
  • 48.0 oz. (3 lb.) trays of Kroger Ground Turkey Fresh 85/15
  • 48.0 oz. (3 lbs.) trays of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey Family Pack
  • 16 oz. (1 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey
  • 19.2 oz. (1.2 lbs.) trays of Honeysuckle White Seasoned Italian Style Ground Turkey with Natural Flavorings
  • 20 oz. (1.25 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey (NOTE: Sold in Texas only at Randall’s and Tom Thumb, Use or Freeze by 03/12/11 through 05/05/11)

93% Ground Turkey – Use or Freeze by Dates of 2/20/11 through 8/23/11

  • 19.2 oz. (1.20 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 93/7 Lean Ground Turkey
  • 48 oz. (3.0 lbs.) trays of Honeysuckle White 93/7 Lean Ground Turkey Family Pack
  • 19.2 oz. (1.2 lb.) trays of Fit & Active Lean Ground Turkey 93/07
  • 19.2 oz. (1.2 lbs.) trays of Giant Eagle Ground Turkey Fresh & Premium Lean
  • 19.2 oz. (1 lb 3.2 oz.) trays of Kroger Ground Turkey Fresh Lean 93/7
  • 20 oz. (1.25 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 93/7 Lean Ground Turkey

Ground Patties

  • 16.0 oz. (1 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White Ground Turkey Patties
  • Use or Freeze by Dates of 2/20/11 through 8/23/11
  • 16 oz. (1 lb.) trays of Kroger Ground Seasoned Turkey Patties Fresh 85/15
  • Use or Freeze by Dates of 2/20/11 through 8/23/11
  • 16.0 oz. (1 lb.) trays of Shady Brook Farms Ground Turkey Burgers with Natural Flavoring
  • NOTE: ONLY THE FOLLOWING USE OR FREEZE BY DATES ARE AFFECTED: 07/09/11, 07/10/11, 07/11/11, 07/15/11, 07/16/11, 07/21/11, 07/22/11, 07/24/11, 08/01/11 AND 08/04/11

Frozen Ground Turkey – Production Dates of 2/20/11 through 8/2/11

  • 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Honeysuckle White Ground Turkey with Natural Flavoring
  • 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Spartan Ground Turkey
  • 48 oz. (3 lb.) chubs of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey
  • 40 lb. Bulk Packed Ground Turkey with Natural Flavoring For Food Service Use Only
I expect the supermarket recall notices to begin appearing tomorrow.

Cargill To Recall Ground Turkey

Associated Press and Bill Marler are reporting that Cargill Value Added Meats – Retail (Springdale, AR) will announce a recall of 35,709,675 pounds – that is, 17,855 tons – of fresh, ground turkey meat before the day is out.

The recalled turkey meat may be linked to an outbreak of Salmonella Heidelberg that has sickened 77 people across the US since the beginning of March. One person – a resident of Sacramento County, California – has died and 38% of the outbreak victims for whom the information is available were hospitalized. Cases have been reported from 26 states so far; the outbreak is on-going and nation-wide.

I have just instructed my 80-something-year-old Aunt Anne to toss out her ground turkey meatloaf. She’s also tossing the recipe.

Recalls and Alerts: August 3, 2011

Here is today’s list of food safety recalls, product withdrawals, allergy alerts and miscellaneous compliance issues. The live links will take you directly to the official recall notices and company news releases that contain detailed information for each recall and alert.

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United States

  • Allergy Alert: SnapDragon Foods recalls Snapdragon Rice Pasta Stir-Fry, Hoisin Flavor, 7.7 ounces (All lot codes), because one side panel of the package indicates erroneously that the product is ‘naturally gluten free’ due to a printing error.

Canada

  • Allergy Alert: Les Aliments O Sole Mio Inc. recalls Scores Ribs Sauce, 2.5 Kg (all codes) due to the presence of undeclared fish. The recalled product was supplied to restaurants, hotels and institutional accounts in Ontario and Quebec.
  • Dietary Supplement Safety Recall: Shaping Beauty, Inc. (Southampton, PA) recalls Celerite™ Slimming Tea, after FDA finds that the product contains undeclared sibutramine. The recalled product was distributed via the Internet.

Europe

  • Food Safety Recall (Denmark): Butcher Farm St. Lihme A/S recalls Raw Sausage, 9-12% fat (500g & 900g; Produced 26/7/2011; Best before 1/8/2011, because a raw ingredient used to produce the sausage was contamination with Salmonella.
  • Food Safety Recall (Denmark): HKI Cheese recalls Tom de Savoie cheese from unpasteurized cow’s milk (Whole cheese, 1/2 cheese or 1/4 cheese); Product of France and packaged by HKI in Denmark; Best before dates ranging from 19/9/2011 to 30/9/2011), because the cheese may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
  • Food Safety Recall (UK): Kettle Foods Ltd. recalls Kettle® Chips Lightly Salted, Wave Cut Lightly Salted, Wave Cut Salt & Pepper, and Wave Cut Salt & Vinegar (Best before 29 October 2011), because the product may have become contaminated with pieces of plastic that are similar in appearance to the crisps.
  • Food Safety Alert (UK): The Food Standards Agency advises the public that Zam Zam water sold in the UK or brought into the UK for personal consumption may contain high levels of arsenic or nitrates.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall Update (Hong Kong): GlaxoSmithKline Limited, on orders from the Department of Health, recalls two additional strengths of Augmentin (625mg and 1g tablets) after plasticizers were found in all tablet formulations manufactured in the GSK Worthing (UK) production plant.

Some supermarket chains post recall notices on their web sites for the convenience of customers. To see whether a recalled food was carried by your favorite supermarket, follow the live link to the supermarket’s recall web site.