Officials Knew About Salmonella

New reports say federal officials knew about Salmonella at a turkey plant a year before the fatal outbreak.

“Federal officials said in recent days that they turned up a dangerous form of salmonella at a Cargill Inc. turkey plant last year, and then four times this year at stores selling the Cargill turkey, but didn’t move for a recall until an outbreak killed one person and sickened 77 others,” according to news reports .

I began reporting on this massive turkey meat recall that has been linked to Salmonella food poisoning injuries and deaths last week. That recall is raising some questions about food safety and changes to recall rules, according to news reports.

“A government agency that tracks antibiotic-resistant pathogens found evidence of the contamination in Cargill ground turkey in early March, and the five-month lapse of time between that discovery and the recall has sparked a renewed debate about how the United States protects the public from tainted meat.

And the company said on Friday that Salmonella Heidelberg was detected at the Springdale plant even earlier than that March discovery.”

The recall occurred last week, when Cargill turkey meat was linked to one California death and at least 76 other salmonella illnesses nationwide. Cargill is recalling approximately 36 million pounds of ground turkey.

There is not a complete recall list yet, but according to its website, Cargill lists brands of raw turkey products including Marval, Honeysuckle White and RiverSide.

As  personal injury lawyer in Columbia I’m saddened to hear about this Salmonella outbreak. I urge consumers to properly cook their ground meat and avoid cross contamination to prevent getting sick.

I urge anyone who purchased the recalled products to stop using it and throw it away. Consumers should also be careful when handling the cat food, as Salmonella could spread by cross-contamination. If you or a loved one has been injured by a recalled product, contact a personal injury attorney in Columbia.