Cargill is recalling more than 16 million kilograms of fresh and frozen ground turkey products in the U.S. because of possible contamination with an antibiotic-resistant strain of salmonella.

Brigitte Burgoyne, communications manager of Cargill Ltd. in Winnipeg, said the Canadian division produces only chicken and beef, and Cargill does not import any turkey products to Canada.

The U.S. recall involves turkey products produced at the company's Springdale, Ark., plant from Feb. 20 through Aug. 2.

Seventy-eight people in 26 states were infected with the outbreak strain of salmonella Heidelberg between March 1 and Aug. 1, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

One death was reported in California. Michigan and Ohio have reported the highest numbers of people sickened, with 10 cases in each state.

It is the third-largest outbreak that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has on record, Dr. David Goldman, an assistant administrator with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service's public health office, told reporters.

Of the cases where information is available, 38 per cent of the patients were hospitalized, which is higher than typical for salmonella infections, said Dr. Chris Braden, director of the CDC's division of food-borne, water-borne and environmental diseases.

A possible reason for the higher hospitalization rate is that the outbreak strain is resistant to three antibiotics, although it does respond to several other antibiotics, Braden noted.

Recalled brands

All of the recalled packages include the code "Est. P-963," Cargill said.

Packages are labelled under different brands, many under the label Honeysuckle White.

Other brands include:

  • Riverside Ground Turkey.
  • Natural Lean Ground Turkey.
  • Fit & Active Lean Ground Turkey.
  • Spartan Ground Turkey.
  • Shady Brook Farms Ground Turkey Burgers.

The recall also includes ground turkey products packaged under the HEB, Safeway, Kroger, Randall's, Tom Thumb and Giant Eagle grocery store brands.

Contaminated turkey can be safe to eat if cooked properly, but the raw meat needs to be handled carefully and hands washed properly.

"Given that salmonella can be a naturally occurring organism in chickens and turkeys and other poultry, it always behooves the consumer to handle, prepare, cook poultry products carefully and safely," Braden said.

At the beginning of the investigation, officials said they were not finding a significant proportion of cases involving exposure to turkey meat. This prevented them from acting until more information was collected, Braden said.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency advises consumers to cook ground poultry to 74 C or 165 F.

With files from The Associated Press