Guarding against salmonella in turkeys largely up to consumers
Submitted on November 20, 2003 - 1:00am.
Crystal K. Wiebe - Fall 2003
WASHINGTON – Cooking a turkey is hard, but preparing one safely can be even harder.
According to a consumer guide released last year by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the U.S. Department of Agriculture found salmonella contamination in whole turkeys from 37 of 38 American turkey plants tested in 2001.
At a Wednesday press conference, Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the center, said the guide, published in the Nutrition Action Healthletter, helped consumers pick safer turkeys to feed their families.
This year, the center was barely able to update its guide, DeWaal said, because USDA didn't test as many turkeys in 2002. “Who is the turkey at USDA that stopped testing turkeys for salmonella?” DeWaal asked.
According to a consumer guide released last year by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the U.S. Department of Agriculture found salmonella contamination in whole turkeys from 37 of 38 American turkey plants tested in 2001.
At a Wednesday press conference, Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the center, said the guide, published in the Nutrition Action Healthletter, helped consumers pick safer turkeys to feed their families.
This year, the center was barely able to update its guide, DeWaal said, because USDA didn't test as many turkeys in 2002. “Who is the turkey at USDA that stopped testing turkeys for salmonella?” DeWaal asked.
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