Death, illnesses from salmonella, but no recall

August 2, 2011

You think the way the pet food industry and FDA handle pet food recalls stinks? Take a walk on the human side, where the Centers for Disease Control have been investigating ground turkey contaminated with salmonella that has caused one death and at least 76 illnesses in 26 states since March, and the government agency still hasn’t announced a recall nor identified the producer of the contaminated food.

From the Associated Press:

The illnesses date back to March, and the CDC said Monday that cultures of ground turkey from four retail locations between March 7 and June 27 showed salmonella contamination. The agency said preliminary information showed that three of the samples have been linked to the same production establishment but did not name the retailers or the manufacturers.

The Agriculture Department oversees meat safety and would be the agency to announce a recall. The department sent out an alert about the illnesses late last week telling consumers to properly cook their turkey, which can decrease the chances of salmonella poisoning. But the department has not given consumers any further warnings about the source of the tainted meat.

The USDA has not responded to requests for comment on why there has not been a recall. The CDC said it and the USDA were “vigorously working to identify the specific contaminated product or products that are causing illnesses and will update the public on the progress of this investigation as information becomes available.”

Food safety advocate Bill Marler, an attorney who has represented victims of the nation’s biggest food-borne illness outbreaks, said he believes the three positive samples should prompt a recall.

“Consumers have no idea what to do except not eat ground turkey,” he said.

Remember during the 2007 pet food recall when we kept saying, “If this was people food, you’d be doing a better job?” Not so much.

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