Hey CSPINET! EAT ME!
Posted on 11/21/2001 4:05:53 AM PST by Stand Watch Listen
Many Americans could find an unwelcome guest at their Thanksgiving table - a new federal survey found that 13 percent of turkeys are contaminated with the salmonella bacteria responsible for 1.3 million illnesses and about 500 deaths a year in the United States.
Government, industry and interest groups say consumers - who are expected to handle 45 million turkeys this Thanksgiving Day - should take heed from the warning that pathogens could be in their kitchen, and follow proper handling and preparation procedures to minimize risks.
This year, for the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture began compiling data on 2,200 turkey samples taken at 43 slaughtering plants. The government has been collecting data on chicken and beef plants since 1998.
The report found that almost half the turkeys at one plant were contaminated with salmonella, and one in five birds contaminated with salmonella at 15 percent of the plants. Those high levels of contamination were balanced out by other plants with low contamination rates, resulting in the average of 13 percent contamination levels.
Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which released the Sept. 26 government data Monday, said the survey demonstrates that better sanitation and slaughter practices can reduce salmonella contamination levels.
"Some plants are marketing large numbers of contaminated turkeys,'' said DeWaal. The organization wants the Department of Agriculture to release the names of plants and their contamination rates.
She said she was surprised the data shows that turkeys from smaller plants had lower contamination rates than those from larger processing plants. "The large number of plants that are producing clean turkeys is a great sign,'' she said.
The turkey-production industry is not as automated as chicken-processing plants, which currently have a salmonella contamination rate of 9.1 percent.
Sherrie Rosenblatt, a spokeswoman for the National Turkey Federation, an industry group, said the government data shows a 30 percent decrease in salmonella contamination levels from levels that the government set as a baseline in 1998.
She said the industry is "aggressively taking intervention steps" to lower rates even more, but recommended that consumers take steps to reduce further chances of illness from the pathogens.
Agriculture Department spokesman Kevin Herglotz said the report shows that government programs aimed at reducing pathogen contamination are working.
He said the findings should alert consumers that they have a responsibility to properly handle raw foods. "There are still risks of handling raw meats and poultry that consumers need to know, and consumers need to know how to fully cook all meats and effective safe handling practices," he said.
More than 90 percent of American dinner tables will be graced with turkey this Thanksgiving, and government, industry and interest groups are urging consumers to follow proper cooking instructions to kill pathogens, and prevent cross-contamination of other holiday foods.
Food-safety experts say heat kills pathogens, and recommend that turkeys should be cooked to an internal temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit in the thigh and 165 degrees Fahrenheit in the dressing. The Center for Science in the Public Interest(CSPINET) says pop-up timers aren't reliable, and recommends that cooks use a thermometer. Areas and utensils touched by raw turkey should be properly cleaned with soap and water.
On the Net: www.cspinet.org
The bigger problem I see at Thanksgiving is that people leave the turkey out too long after it is cooked. What I do after carving is stick the carcass in a pot and start boiling it for soup. For the next several days, we have homemade turkey soup. Much better than turkey sandwiches in my opinion. Throw some pasta (acini de pepe) into the soup with some potatos, corn and celery and it makes a great meal.
Leni
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