We wonder what’s it going to take for the FDA to clean up our food supply? In another case of bad meat, several hospitals across America treated multiple cases of salmonella poisoning traced back to contaminated ground turkey, according to health officials.
“I had a turkey wrap in my home with my family and no more than thirty minutes later I was in the bathroom regurgitating,” says Denise Gayle, a grandmother and breast-health advocate from Los Angeles.
A total of 77 people have reported being poisoned by salmonella in 26 states since March 1, according to the CDC. More than half those infected reported using fresh or ground turkey products.
Even though the numbers are not high enough for the FDA to issue a nationwide recall, this strain has put 22 people in the hospital and killed one person.
Cargill, one of the nation’s largest distributors of poultry has recalled their ground turkey products, fearing the “superbug” might be worse than initial reports have sited.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that everyone who purchases ground turkey to cook it thoroughly. But isn’t that a given?
According to the San Francisco Examiner, the CDC insists this strain of salmonella is a “superbug” because it is highly resistant to the antibiotic Ciprofloxacin, or Cipro, often used for severe salmonella infections.
While most infections only cause mild gastroenteritis with stomach cramps, fever, and diarrhea, older people or those with weaker immune systems are particularly at risk of life-threatening infections.
The “superbug” is called S.Kentucky and is believed to have spread so rapidly because of international travel and the common use of fluoroquinolone antibiotics in chicken and turkey production in Nigeria and Morocco.
“We hope that this publication might stir awareness among national and international health, food and agricultural authorities so that they take the necessary measures to control and stop the dissemination of this strain before it spreads globally,” the researchers said.
