Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Raw Turkey Grows (1 Person Dead, 164 Sickened)
Ham for Thanksgiving, anyone?
The CDC just announced that 74 more people have become ill and one person has died due to the July Salmonella outbreak linked to raw turkey products.
While NO product brands have been determined yet, and NO official recalls have been made, the outbreak has been linked to raw turkey products, live turkeys, and raw turkey pet food.
As of November 5th, the CDC has reported 164 people who have been infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Reading. Check this map to see if your state has reported infections.
The CDC is not advising that we avoid eating turkey this Thanksgiving or that retailers stop selling raw turkey products. They’re just recommending that we follow these steps to help prevent Salmonella infection from raw turkey:
- Wash your hands. Salmonella infections can spread from one person to another. Wash hands before and after preparing or eating food, after contact with animals, and after using the restroom or changing diapers.
- Cook raw turkey thoroughly to kill harmful germs. Turkey breasts, whole turkeys, and ground poultry, including turkey burgers, casseroles, and sausage, should always be cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F to kill harmful germs. Leftovers should be reheated to 165°F. Use a food thermometer to check, and place it in the thickest part of the food.
- Don’t spread germs from raw turkey around food preparation areas. Washing raw poultry before cooking is not recommended. Germs in raw poultry juices can spread to other areas and foods. Thoroughly wash hands, counters, cutting boards, and utensils with warm, soapy water after they touch raw turkey. Use a separate cutting board for raw turkey and other raw meats if possible.
- Thaw turkey in the refrigerator, in a sink of cold water that is changed every 30 minutes, or in the microwave. Never thaw your turkey by leaving it out on the counter.
- CDC does not recommend feeding raw diets to pets. Germs like Salmonella in raw pet food can make your pets sick. Your family also can become ill by handling the raw food.
Sometimes it really pays not to like Turkey. 🙂
Thank you for caring so much for all of us to post this for all who aren’t aware.
You’re very welcome, Jessica! SO glad to help!
Thanks for the information. This is why I always cook everything well. I would rather overcook than undercook any day!
Me too! You’re very welcome!
Whatever the first picture is of ended up killing a bit of my soul… looks like a giant pile of meat paste or something… 🤮
I feel the same way! 🤮🤮🤮
Agree!! 🤢😷
Lol, I agree. Very gross looking. Im glad I’m a vegetarian
Wow that’s crazy. I was trying to do more ground turkey instead of beef trying to be healthier :/
Thanks ..its just sad hopefully no one else gets sick
You’re welcome!
OH no. We have been supplementing our dog’s kibble with raw grinds made by a local company sold frozen. We did get the turkey variety and he got diarrhea for a week a month ago so we stopped, suspecting the turkey. He is now back to his usual self, luckily. We will contact the shop we purchased from.
If feeding raw meat to dogs for the first time, their bowel movements will change until their bodies adjust to it.
He had been eating different grinds for months before that — beef, duck, chicken, etc. so he had adjusted. We just decided it wasn’t worth the risk. Thanks for the info, though!
Salmonella rarely bothers *healthy* dogs. It passes right through them. It makes people really sick, so be zealous about sanitation if you feed raw to your pooch (spray diluted bleach on the prep surface, soak utensils/dog bowls in bleach solution, wash and sanitize hands….) Note: if your dog is immuno-compromised in any way, I would only consider “HPP” processed raw — there are a few companies that offer it.
I don’t understand why they cannot tell us the specific source. They know how many people got sick from it in each state and they know it’s from raw turkey. Yet they can’t say a brand or distributor that it’s linked to 🤔
I was wondering the same thing Christina ugh. I wish they could pinpoint which brands it has affected. I guess I will buy ground chicken until this issue is cleared but. There is also a recall on Duncan Hines cake mixes to.
I think the problem is live turkeys across the country have also tested positive so this is likely not a distributor problem.
That is so scary and sad! Just the thought… thank you for sharing this
I know! You’re welcome, Megan!
Thank you for the information. That’s why I never never in my life like Turkey 🦃! It has weird taste and it makes my tummy ache 😖
Ugh I just bought our turkey yesterday. I hope butterball is not one of the affected ones. I know they are not saying the brands but does anyone know if they will disclose that anytime soon? Before thanksgiving!!! I mean if they don’t there will be more people and God forbid deaths. I always over cook my turkey just in case.
Cooking is important, but also keep in mind that anything the raw turkey touches could become contaminated.
I know!😬 I always have a bottle of Clorox clean up under the kitchen sink and spray all over the sink and counter. It smells bleachie but then I know it’s clean. We use paper towels to dry our hands and we wash everything. We do the same thing after we cut the turkey. My best friend thinks I over doing but I rather over do it than to risk having sick people in my house, specially during thanksgiving
That is exactly how you SHOULD be! I remember YEARS ago, when there were many ecoli outbreaks (including jack n the box), and oprah had a show on it, she had a guest who was a butcher, and he said ANY raw meat can make you very sick-practice safe meat handling and cook your meat fully. I will still be using my ground turkey-i cook everything to well done and honestly wash every surface that raw meat could have possibly touched. It is better than being sick.