Cargill Initiates New Ground Turkey Recall Based on Confirmed Test Sample

As a precautionary measure, Cargill Value Added Meats Retail, a business unit of Wichita, Kan.-based Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., yesterday initiated an immediate Class I voluntary recall of approximately 185,000 pounds of 85-percent-lean fresh ground turkey products produced at the company's Springdale, Ark., facility on Aug. 23, 24, 30 and 31, 2011, due to possible contamination from Salmonella Heidelberg.

The recall was initiated after one confirmed test sample taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a post-August 3 recall review of the processing facility, which yielded low levels of the same Salmonella Heidelberg strain that appears to match the strain previously associated with human illness, according to Cargill.

Cargill has voluntarily suspended production of ground turkey products at its Springdale, Ark., turkey processing facility until additional corrective actions, incremental to those implemented as the result of the Aug. 3 recall, can be identified by the company and reviewed and approved by USDA.

Other turkey products produced at Springdale are not part of the recall. Cargill owns four turkey processing facilities in the U.S., and no products from the other three are involved in the recall.

"Out of an abundance of caution, we are acting quickly in response to USDA's sample testing," said Steve Willardsen, president of Cargill's turkey processing business. "Although there are no known illnesses associated with this positive sample, it is the same Salmonella Heidelberg strain that resulted in our voluntary recall on Aug. 3, 2011."

Cargill is contacting its customers to make certain they know which of their ground turkey products are affected by this recall. Consumers are urged to return any opened or unopened packages of ground turkey items listed on Cargill's ground turkey recall website (www.cargill.com/turkey-recall) to stores where they were purchased for a full refund.

A complete list of the products involved in the recall is listed below. All packages include Est. P-963 on the label.

Fresh Ground Turkey Chubs

*         16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Fresh HEB Ground Turkey 85/15 (53858)

*         Use or Freeze by Dates of 09/12/2011, 09/13/2011, 09/19/2011 and 09/20/2011

*         16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Fresh Ground Turkey (55046)

*         Use or Freeze by Dates of 09/19/2011, 09/20/2011 and 09/21/2011

Fresh Ground Turkey Trays

*         19.2 oz. (1.2 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey (50328)

*         Use or Freeze by Dates of 09/10/2011 and 09/12/2011

*         48.0 oz. (3 lb.) trays of Kroger Ground Turkey Fresh 85/15 (53150)

*         Use or Freeze by Dates of 09/17/2011, 09/18/2011 and 09/19/2011

*         48.0 oz. (3 lbs.) trays of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey Family Pack (53525)

*         Use or Freeze by Dates of 09/11/2011, 09/12/2011, 09/13/2011, 09/15/2011, 09/17/2011 and 09/18/2011

*         16 oz. (1 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey (55093)

*         Use or Freeze by Dates of 09/11/2011

Fresh Ground Turkey Patties

*         16.0 oz. (1 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White Ground Turkey Patties (50920)

*         Use or Freeze by Dates of 09/18/2011

*         16 oz. (1 lb.) trays of Kroger Ground Seasoned Turkey Patties Fresh 85/15 (53147)

*         Use or Freeze by Dates of 09/17/2011

Products were distributed nationally through retail outlets.