Can You Get Salmonella from Turkey?

Make sure that salmonella is not an unexpected guest at your Thanksgiving meal. Heres what you can do to avoid illness.

When organizing Thanksgiving get-togethers with loved ones, don’t forget to prepare for a frequent unexpected visitor: salmonella.

The bacteria, which is frequently present in eggs and poultry, can quickly turn a delicious dinner party into a disastrous one. According to the CDC, each year about 26,000 people are admitted to hospitals and 400 people pass away from foodborne salmonella illness.

The best defense against salmonella illness is to properly thaw, cook, and wash your hands as well as any kitchen surfaces that come into contact with raw meat.

However, government authorities and scholarly investigators assert that additional measures are available to lessen the probability of the bacteria ever entering your residence. Advertisement.

Why does poultry have salmonella?

“The primary issue with most cases of salmonella is that it has colonized in birds.” Timothy Johnson, a microbiology professor in the veterinary and biomedical sciences department at the University of Minnesota, stated, “You’d never know because they don’t get sick.” “You can try to control for it, but the real issue is that it’s very hard to eradicate once it enters a facility.” ”.

Recognizing the most prevalent strains of salmonella is an important first step in preventing illnesses caused by the bacteria.

A recent study by the CDC found that certain “serotypes” or strains of salmonella were more common than others among Thanksgiving turkeys. CDC researchers analyzed data from about 846,450 salmonella cases reported between 1998 and 2018 and found that the Reading strain of salmonella was most commonly associated with turkey.

“There are many different types of salmonella‚” said Farrell A. Tobolowsky, the lead author of the study and a medical epidemiologist with the CDC When and where people become ill, the severity of their illness, and the other foods they’re eating can all affect how they behave. Some types are found in only one type of animal. Regulators are better able to predict potential salmonella outbreak sites by establishing a link between particular serotypes and animal species.

Salmonella can spread among animals several ways. It frequently spreads from an infected bird to its progeny. According to Johnson, the bacteria can enter a bird’s habitat through food or materials used for nesting.

The Food and Drug Administration requires samples from farms and meat processing facilities to be submitted for testing for salmonella. The organization has strengthened rules in an attempt to lower the quantity of contaminated meat products that reach customers’ dinner tables.

But more testing isn’t necessarily the answer, Johnson said.

“It sounds great to have zero tolerance for salmonella, but it’s really unrealistic because salmonella naturally colonizes poultry,” he stated. “It would be extremely problematic for our meat supply to ask a producer to be completely salmonella-free.” ”.

Regulators ought to concentrate on the amount of salmonella present rather than determining whether a meat sample contains the disease. According to research, humans are actually more at risk from high levels of salmonella than from trace amounts, which do not usually cause illness in humans, he said.

While Johnson and his associates are developing new guidelines for testing for salmonella, in the interim, cooking the bird until it’s golden brown and sizzling inside is your best bet.

How to prevent salmonella illness at Thanksgiving

Here are the CDC’s tips:

• Use a cold water sink or the refrigerator to thaw the turkey. Turkey should not be thawed on the kitchen counter because bacteria can grow more quickly in meat left at room temperature for longer than two hours.
• To ensure that no raw turkey ends up on your cutting board or platter, wash all dishes, utensils, and surfaces thoroughly after handling raw meat.
• Handle raw turkey with soap both before and after.
• Cook turkey to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a meat thermometer instead of the pop-up temperature indicator that many turkeys come with. The size of your turkey will determine how long it takes to cook, but in general, use a roasting pan that is at least two inches deep, preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, and don’t put the turkey in the oven until it has completely thawed.
• Don’t forget the stuffing. Assuming that the stuffing is cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, cook it inside the turkey. Prevent salmonella from growing in your stuffing by cooking it separately from the bird.

Salmonella a risk in Thanksgiving turkeys

Are raw turkeys contaminated with Salmonella?

Health officials say salmonella has been detected in ground turkey, raw turkey pet food and live turkeys, an indication the bacteria is widespread in the turkey industry. On Friday, Jennie-O Turkey announced it’s recalling more than 91,000 pounds of raw turkey for possible salmonella contamination.

How do you know if a Turkey has salmonella?

The key symptoms are diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, and sometimes vomiting. The strain of salmonella implicated in the current turkey outbreak is known as the Reading strain. The CDC tested several samples of the bacteria from people who had gotten sick and found that some of the bacteria showed signs of being resistant to antibiotics.

Is Salmonella poisoning a problem for turkeys on Thanksgiving Day?

As Americans prepare to cook and consume nearly 50 million turkeys on Thanksgiving Day, an ongoing outbreak of salmonella poisoning linked to the poultry means food safety at home is more critical than ever.

Can you get salmonella from chicken?

CDC estimates that Salmonella cause more than 1 million foodborne illnesses in the United States every year. You can get a Salmonella infection from a variety of foods, including chicken, turkey, beef, pork, eggs, fruits, sprouts, other vegetables, and even processed foods, such as nut butters, frozen pot pies, and stuffed chicken entrees.