Kroger Urges Customers to Return Ground Turkey Impacted by Recall

If you've shopped at recently, check your ground turkey: The grocery chain carries Cargill products that have been recalled over concerns about Salmonella contamination.

Kroger is removing all the affected items from its shelves and asking customers to return the ground turkey for a full refund, according to a statement.

Customers should look for ground turkey products under the Honeysuckle and Kroger labels with a use or freeze date between Feb. 20 and Aug. 23.

Kroger and Papa Joe's, however, do not carry the Purina cat food formula involved in the following recalls.

• The United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Wednesday that Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation of Springdale, AK, has recalled approximately 36 million pounds of ground turkey products distributed nationwide that may be contaminated with a multi-drug resistant strain of Salmonella Heidelberg. Dozens of illnesses and at least one death have been reported, according to the FSIS. Click the link above for more details about how to spot affected meat.
• "Nestle Purina PetCare Company (NPPC) is voluntarily recalling a limited number of 3.5- and 7-pound bags of its Purina ONE Vibrant Maturity 7+ Dry Cat Food from a single production run and shipped to customers in 12 states (including Michigan) in December 2010," says a press released posted July 29 on the company's website. "This is being done because some bags of the product have been found to be contaminated with Salmonella." No other Purina products were included in the recall, according to the company. Click the link above for more details about how to spot affected cat food.

Salmonella is a bacteria that can cause an illness called Salmonellosis, whose symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Salmonellosis usually clears up on its own after four to seven days, but more severe cases can lead to death unless treated with antibiotics, the CDC says. The elderly, infants and those with weakened immune systems are more likely to fall into the latter category, according to the CDC.

Durese Carr, a customer service representative from the Birmingham Kroger, said the store did carry the ground turkey and has been pulling it from the shelves all week.

A representative from in Birmingham, however, said the grocer does not carry the turkey products or the Purina cat food involved in the recalls.

Carr said Kroger doesn't carry the cat food involved either.

However, if you remain concerned about Salmonella infection, the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service provides the following recommendations for preventing Salmonellosis:

• "Wash hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling raw meat and poultry. Also wash cutting boards, dishes and utensils with hot soapy water. Clean up spills right away.
• "Keep raw meat, fish and poultry away from other food that will not be cooked. Use separate cutting boards for raw meat, poultry and egg products and cooked foods.
• "Cook raw meat and poultry to safe internal temperatures before eating. The safe internal temperature for ground meat such as beef and pork is 160° F, and 165° F for poultry, as determined with a food thermometer.
• "Refrigerate raw meat and poultry within two hours after purchase (one hour if temperatures exceed 90° F). Refrigerate cooked meat and poultry within two hours after cooking."