USDA: Cargill turkey contaminated with salmonella

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed that a sample of ground turkey that led to Cargill’s 185,000lbs recall earlier this month was contaminated with the salmonella heidelberg strain.

Results of lab tests conducted by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) indicated that the strain is resistant to ampicillin, gentamicin, streptomycin and tetracycline.

On 11 September, Cargill recalled 185,000lb of 85% lean fresh ground turkey products produced at its Springdale, Arkansas facility, over fears of possible contamination with salmonella heidelberg.

Following this, the company voluntarily suspended production of ground turkey products at the facility.

Last month Cargill recalled 35.7Mlb of ground turkey produced at the same plant because of possible contamination from the bacteria.