Jennie-O Turkey Burger Recall Issued Due to Salmonella

Federal and state health investigators say a salmonella food poisoning outbreak that has sickened at least 12 people throughout the United States may be linked to Jennie-O frozen turkey burgers, resulting in a recall of the product from Sam’s Club stores nationwide. 

The Jennie-O Turkey Burger recall was announced on April 1 by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) after several people in different states fell ill with the same strain of salmonella poisoning.

So far there have been 12 reported salmonella poisoning cases believed to be connected with the recalled turkey burgers. The illnesses have been reported in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Washington and Wisconsin.

The food poisoning cases all occurred between December 2010 and March 2011, with all of the illnesses involving a strain known as Salmonella serotype Hadar.

The recall affects about 54,960 pounds of frozen, raw turkey burger sold in 4-pound boxes under the Jennie-O Turkey Store label. The boxes each contain 12 1/3-pound individually wrapped burgers and has “All Natural Turkey Burgers with seasonings Lean White Meat” printed on the package. The recalled burgers have a use by date of “DEC 23 2011” and lot codes of 32710 through 32780 on the side panel above the tear strip. The boxes have an establishment number of P-7760 on the front of the box in the USDA mark of inspection.

The contaminated burgers were sold exclusively at Sam’s Club stores.

The FSIS was first alerted to the outbreak by Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services officials. Once three different people were identified as falling ill after eating the burgers, the FSIS conducted an epidemiologic investigation that led back to the Jennie-O ground turkey products.

Salmonella is a type of bacteria that attacks the gastrointestinal tract, causing mild to severe food poisoning. For most healthy adults, symptoms of food poisoning from salmonella typically resolve after a few days or weeks. However, young children, the elderly, and individuals with compromised immune systems have an increased risk of suffering severe food poisoning after ingesting the bacteria. If not properly treated, some cases of salmonella food poisoning can lead to hospitalization, dehydration or death.

Jennie-O Turkey Store has asked consumers who purchased the recalled turkey burgers to return them to a Sam’s Club store for a full refund. Any consumers with questions can go to www.jennieo.com/recall or call 507-437-5345.