CDC says outbreak linked to turkey is over; consumers should check freezers
The CDC has declared a multistate Salmonella Hadar outbreak traced to ground turkey over.
Patients were spread across 14 states, with a total of 33 people confirmed infected. Of the 22 patients for whom the information was available, four were so sick they had to be admitted to hospitals, according to the outbreak update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No deaths were reported.
Illnesses started on dates ranging from Dec. 28, 2020, to April 22 this year. Epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback data showed that ground turkey made people sick.
There is some concern that people may still have unused portions of the implicated turkey in their freezers. The raw ground turkey was produced from Dec.18, 2020, through Dec. 29, 2020.
Consumers can use the following label information to determine whether they have the implicated turkey in their home freezers:
- 1-lb. packages of Nature’s Promise Free from 94% LEAN | 6% FAT Ground Turkey with Use by/freeze/sell-by date of 1/1/21, 1/3/21,1/4/21, 1/8/21, and 1/10/21 on the front of the package.
- 1-lb. packages of Wegman 94% LEAN | 6% FAT Ground Turkey with Use by/freeze/sell by date of 1/3/21, 1/4/21, 1/8/21, and 1/10/21 on the front of the package.
- 3-lb. packages of Wegman 94% LEAN | 6% FAT Ground Turkey with Use by/freeze/sell by date of 1/3/21, 1/4/21, 1/8/21, and 1/10/21 on the front of the package.
- 1-lb. packages of Plainville Farms Ground White Turkey 93% | 7% Fat with Use by/freeze/sell by date of 1/10/21 on the front of the package.
Public health investigators used the PulseNet system to identify illnesses that were part of this outbreak. CDC PulseNet manages a national database of DNA fingerprints of bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses. DNA fingerprinting is performed on bacteria using a method called whole genome sequencing (WGS). WGS showed that bacteria from sick people’s samples were closely related genetically. This means that people in this outbreak likely got sick from the same food.
USDA-FSIS collected an unopened package of ground turkey from a sick person’s freezer for testing. Testing results showed that the ground turkey contained the outbreak strain of Salmonella. The traceback investigation found that the ground turkey purchased by the sick person was produced by Plainville Brands LLC.
“Not all illnesses were linked to ground turkey produced by Plainville Brands LLC. Sick people reported buying many different brands of ground turkey from multiple stores, and USDA-FSIS’s traceback investigation identified several turkey processing facilities,” according to the CDC update.
“The outbreak strain was also identified in routine turkey samples, from multiple companies, collected by USDA-FSIS (Food Safety and Inspection Service) and state officials from 13 establishments.”
On April 10, USDA-FSIS issued a public health alert for more than 211,000 pounds of raw ground turkey products produced by Plainville Brands LLC.
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