The USDA has quietly updated the recall notice for Jennie-O raw ground turkey to include another 55,888 pounds of the product, and another product was added to the recall list. This ground turkey is being recalled in association with a multistate Salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 164 people in 35 states.
The newly added recalled product is 1 pound packages of “GROUND TURKEY 90% LEAN | 10% FAT with a “use by” date of 10/2/2018. The turkey has the establishment number “P-190” inside the USDA mark of inspection. It was sold in retail locations nationwide.
The list of stores that may have carried this Jennie-O raw ground turkey has been updated as well. It includes HEB stores in Texas, and many stores in Illinois. Look at the list of stores and the recall list closely. If you have purchased any of those products, throw them away after wrapping them well in foil or plastic wrap.
The outbreak notice posted by the CDC hasn’t been updated since November 20, 2018. Forty-seven percent of patients have been hospitalized, which is more than double the typical hospitalization rate for Salmonella outbreaks.
The CDC has stated that “the outbreak strain of Salmonella Reading is present in live turkeys and in many types of raw turkey products, indicating it might be widespread in the turkey industry.” That means that consumers need to step up and protect themselves.
If you choose to purchase raw turkey, you must handle it as if it were contaminated. That means it must be kept refrigerated until it is cooked. Avoid cross-contamination by making sure the juices don’t drop from the raw meat onto other surfaces in your kitchen. Always cook turkey to a final internal temperature of at least 165°F and check that temp with a food thermometer. And don’t feed your pets raw turkey food; cross-contamination is a real problem with those products.
