Death of California Resident Linked to Salmonella Outbreak
Government officials are scrambling to find the source of a salmonella outbreak which is likely linked to ground turkey. 76 people in 26 states have been sickened by the strain and California health officials said one person has died in Sacramento County.
(UPDATE as of 3:30 PM: The USDA has now recalled 36 million pounds of Cargill ground turkey linked to the death)
The Agriculture Department has been trying to find the source of the outbreak for months, but still hasn’t figured out who produced the meat and has yet to initiate a recall.
The illnesses date back to March and officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said cultures of ground turkey from four retail locations between March 7 and June 27 showed contamination with the same strain of salmonella, though they were not specifically linked to the illnesses.
The illnesses are spread all over the country, with Michigan and Ohio having 10 cases each. There have been six reported in California.
Ground turkey is considered safe to eat when the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees during cooking.
The CDC said the most common symptoms of salmonella are diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever within eight to 72 hours of eating a contaminated product.
Photo Credit: omnomnom-food.blogspot.com
