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Cargill recall: Is your ground turkey on the list?

Cargill recall involves 36 million pounds of ground turkey. Here's how to tell if the Cargill recall affects you.

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Paul Sakuma/AP
A product subject to meat giant Cargill's recall of 36 million pounds of ground turkey linked to a nationwide salmonella outbreak is shown in Redwood City, Calif., Aug. 3, 2011. Cargill said Wednesday that it is recalling fresh and frozen ground turkey products produced at the company's Springdale, Ark., plant due to possible contamination from a strain of salmonella. The Cargill recall involves packages labeled with many different brands, including Honeysuckle White and Kroger.

Food giant Cargill is recalling some 36 million pounds of ground turkey meat, which may be infected with a drug-resistant strain of salmonella.

Company and federal officials have linked 79 cases of salmonella (including one fatality) to a Cargill turkey processing plant in Springdale, Ark. The cases are spread across 26 states and the recall is nationwide.

Minneapolis-based Cargill is asking consumers who have the suspect turkey meat to return it to the store where they bought it for a full refund. Since the meat was distributed nationally to a wide variety of grocery stores and other retail outlets, as well as to food services, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has not yet posted a list of retail outlets involved in the Cargill recall.

However, consumers can detect the suspect turkey on their own by looking carefully at the package. Here's how:

The first step is to look for the USDA's mark of inspection. That's typically a circle that says the USDA has inspected the item. At the bottom, there's sometimes an establishment code -- an EST. followed by numbers and sometimes a letter. Sometimes, however, the code is stamped elsewhere on the package.

The EST. number to watch for is "P-963." If you have ground turkey meat with that code on it, look at the "use by" or "freeze by" date on the package. The following products with dates between 2/20/11 and 8/23/11 are being recalled:

Ground Turkey Chubs

  • 10 lb. chubs of Honeysuckle White Fresh Natural Lean Ground Turkey with Natural Flavorings
  • 10 lb. chubs of unbranded ground turkey w/ Natural Flavoring 2 Pack
  • 80 oz. (5 lb.) chubs of Riverside Ground Turkey with Natural Flavoring
  • 10 lb. chubs of Natural Lean Ground Turkey with Natural Flavorings
  • 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Fresh Lean HEB Ground Turkey 93/7
  • 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Fresh HEB Ground Turkey 85/15
  • 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Honeysuckle White 93/7 Fresh Ground Turkey with Natural Flavoring
  • 4-1 Pound Packages of Honeysuckle White Ground Turkey with Natural Flavoring Value Pack
  • 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Fresh Ground Turkey
  • 48 oz. (3 lb.) chubs of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Fresh Ground Turkey

85% Ground Turkey

  • 19.2 oz. (1.2 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey
  • 19.2 oz. (1.2 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White Taco Seasoned Ground Turkey Colored with Paprika
  • 19.2 oz. (1 lb. 3.2 oz.) trays of Kroger Ground Turkey Fresh 85/15
  • 48.0 oz. (3 lb.) trays of Kroger Ground Turkey Fresh 85/15
  • 20 oz. (1.25 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey
  • 48.0 oz. (3 lbs.) trays of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey Family Pack
  • 16 oz. (1 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey
  • 19.2 oz. (1.2 lbs.) trays of Honeysuckle White Seasoned Italian Style Ground Turkey with Natural Flavorings

93% Ground Turkey

  • 19.2 oz. (1.20 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 93/7 Lean Ground Turkey
  • 48 oz. (3.0 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 93/7 Lean Ground Turkey Family Pack
  • 19.2 oz. (1.2 lb.) trays of Fit & Active Lean Ground Turkey 93/07
  • 19.2 oz. (1.2 lbs.) trays of Giant Eagle Ground Turkey Fresh & Premium Lean
  • 19.2 oz. (1 lb 3.2 oz.) trays of Kroger Ground Turkey Fresh Lean 93/7
  • 20 oz. (1.25 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 93/7 Lean Ground Turkey

Ground Patties

  • 16.0 oz. (1 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White Ground Turkey Patties
  • 16 oz. (1 lb.) trays of Kroger Ground Seasoned Turkey Patties Fresh 85/15

There are also similar items with different use by or freeze by dates:

  • 16.0 oz. (1 lb.) trays of Shady Brook Farms Ground Turkey Burgers with Natural Flavoring with the following use by or freeze by dates: 07/09/11, 07/10/11, 07/11/11, 07/15/11, 07/16/11, 07/21/11, 07/22/11, 07/24/11, 08/01/11, or 08/04/11
  • 20 oz. (1 lb. 4 oz.) trays of Safeway Fresh Ground Turkey with Natural Flavorings * 15% Fat (which is sold in Texas only at Randall's and Tom Thumb) with use by or freeze by dates of 03/12/11 through 05/05/11)

Finally, there are four frozen ground turkey products being recalled with no use by or frozen by dates listed, but which were produced from 2/20/11 through 8/2/11:

  • 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Honeysuckle White Ground Turkey with Natural Flavoring
  • 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Spartan Ground Turkey
  • 48 oz. (3 lb.) chubs of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey
  • 40 lb. Bulk Packed Ground Turkey with Natural Flavoring For Food Service Use Only

For a copy of this list you can click here (Cargill's version) or here (the USDA's version).

In response to the recall, Cargill has temporarily closed the Springdale, Ark., plant until the problem is resolved. The recall does not affect Cargill's other three turkey plants in the United States.

For more information, consumers should contact the company either at its special website www.cargill.com/turkey-recall or by phone toll-free: 888-812-1646. When a list of retail establishments involved in the recall is posted, you will be able to find it here.

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