Senators: USDA must give details on turkey contamination

Consumer organizations and two U.S. senators are calling on the Department of Agriculture to release the names of slaughterhouses, producers and brands involved in a nationwide outbreak of a salmonella strain in raw turkey products.

An estimated 164 people in 35 states, including 12 in New York, have been sickened by exposure to the multi-drug-resistant Salmonella Reading strain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sixty-three of those people have been hospitalized; one person in California died.

The strain can be difficult to treat in some people, the CDC has noted. The agency released a list of precautions to help consumers avoid infection when handling turkeys and turkey parts.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), in a statement Monday, said, “USDA’s failure to provide identifying information for contaminated turkey to the public in advance of the holiday season is simply unconscionable. As such, we demand that you reverse course and immediately disclose the names of the slaughter facilities and processing plants."

She was joined by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in demanding that the USDA explain why the Salmonella Reading strain is so widespread throughout the turkey industry. It has been found in live turkeys, a range of raw turkey products and pet food, according to the CDC.

An estimated 50 million turkeys are expected to be served over the holiday season, according to industry estimates.

The USDA did not immediately respond Monday to the senators.

Last week, an industry official said the strain has been linked to nearly 20 companies across the country.

Steve Lykken, president of the Jennie-O brand, which on Thursday issued a voluntary recall of some of its products, said in a statement, "The turkey industry has been working together for many years to reduce Salmonella. Despite these efforts, this particular Salmonella strain can be found in 29 different manufacturing plants from 19 different companies, according to government agencies."

Among the most important precautions against salmonella is to cook a turkey or turkey parts thoroughly, to an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit, said Dr. Brian Harper, chief medical officer of the Academic Health Centers at New York Institute of Technology's College of Osteopathic Medicine in Old Westbury.

Harper, a former Suffolk County health commissioner, also stressed that turkeys should not be rinsed or washed, because water can cause the bacteria to splash on nearby surfaces.

Many who become infected with salmonella probably aren't aware of it; most infections are mild, Harper said.

"Abdominal cramping may occur within 12 to 72 hours of ingesting contaminated food, but for the most part salmonella does not cause a disease that will lead to a large number of deaths," he said. "Most people will recover without any problems."

In the nationwide outbreak, no central contaminating source has been announced.

Consumer groups, however, said the USDA knows more about the cause than is being released to the public.

 "USDA still hasn’t released the names of the slaughter and processing facilities where it found the outbreak strain through genetic fingerprinting," Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives for Consumer Reports in Yonkers, said Monday in an interview. "The government should publicly identify those plants and the brands produced at those facilities."

The consumer organization and five other groups are calling on the USDA to issue a public health alert containing the names of the turkey processing facilities that may be at the core of the outbreak.

The first evidence of infections related to turkeys was reported in July. The CDC did not announce an investigation until earlier this month. Then, on Thursday came the first voluntary recall of more than 91,000 pounds of turkey products — by the Minnesota-based Jennie-O, owned by Hormel Foods.

At that time, Jennie-O indicated in a statement that its recall pertains only to its 1-pound packages of ground turkey, including plain ground turkey and packages labeled taco or Italian seasoned.

The recalled ground meat was produced on Sept. 11 and has a "use by" stamp of October 1 or October 2 on the labels, Jennie-O's statement said.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service, a division of the USDA, voiced concern on the day the recall was announced that some of the Jennie-O products may be frozen and in consumers’ freezers. The agency urged people not to consume the products.

As of Monday, Jennie-O was the only company to announce a recall of its turkey products.

Lykken, in his statement last week, said the company's ground turkey was voluntarily recalled after a single illness was connected with the brand. 

"We were concerned to learn that someone became ill after exposure to salmonella in a raw turkey product," he said.