Ground Turkey Recalled after Salmonella Linked to Man’s Death

Cinnaminson, NJ

One of the largest meat processing manufacturers in the country is recalling close to 36 million pounds of ground turkey. News of the recall occurred yesterday when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the Class I recall.

The ground turkey has been linked to an outbreak of salmonellosis. To date, people in 26 states have become ill and recently a man’s death in Sacramento, California was also connected to the outbreak.

This is not the first outbreak this year connected with ground turkey. In April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that they were collaborating with public health officials in numerous states and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) to investigate a multistate outbreak of Salmonella hadar infections. That outbreak was linked with a popular frozen turkey burger that was sold nationwide. At least a dozen people from ten states became ill.

Salmonellosis is an infection caused by the bacteria known as Salmonella. According to the CDC, every year, approximately 40,000 cases of the illness are reported in the United States. Because many milder cases are not diagnosed or reported, the actual number of infections may be thirty or more times greater.

Most people infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most people recover without treatment. However, in some people, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. In these patients, the infection may spread from the intestines to the blood stream, and then to other body sites and can even cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics. The elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness.

EMSL Analytical, one of the nation’s largest food pathogen testing laboratories, has developed a dedicated website for people to learn more about Salmonella. It can be found at: www.SalmonellaBacteria.com. The company also recently sponsored a public outreach video to inform people about Salmonella dangers. It can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v59mjWwJZ8

To learn more about Salmonella and other food pathogen testing services please visit www.EMSL.com, call (800) 220-3675 or email info@EMSL.com.

About EMSL Analytical, Inc.
EMSL Analytical is a nationally recognized and locally focused provider of food, environmental and materials testing services and products to professionals and the general public. The company has an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations as well as state and federal regulating bodies.

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Joe Frasca

Senior Vice President, Marketing

EMSL Analytical, Inc.

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