Jennie-O: Industry-wide fight against Salmonella required

The president of Jennie-O Turkey Store says the company and others in the turkey sector are working hard in the fight against Salmonella infections, and for the effort to be successful, an industry-wide effort is needed.

Roy Graber Headshot
(Courtesy Hormel Foods)
(Courtesy Hormel Foods)

The president of Jennie-O Turkey Store says the company and others in the turkey sector are working hard in the fight against Salmonella infections, and for the effort to be successful, an industry-wide effort is needed.

Jennie-O Turkey Store, a subsidiary of Hormel Foods, recently recalled about 164,210 pounds of raw ground turkey products over concerns that the products may be contaminated with Salmonella Reading. The affected products were distributed in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin.

Steve Lykken, president of Jennie-O Turkey Store, said in a statement that Jennie-O is working hard to address issues related to Salmonella Reading, as are others in the industry.

“We have been working with others in the industry on the issue of Salmonella Reading for some time. Given the fact that there are only a few sources of turkey inputs such as eggs, turkeys and genetic stock to the majority of large turkey companies in the industry, we know this is a much bigger issue that will require the entire industry to eradicate this strain from the turkey supply,” he said.

“From a Jennie-O standpoint, we have enacted new processes in our operations including vaccinating our turkeys to protect from Salmonella, improved on farm practices and banning Salmonella Reading eggs, turkeys and genetic stock from a provider known to be positive for Salmonella Reading. Unfortunately, Salmonella Reading may continue to be found throughout the industry until all companies take the steps necessary to eliminate it from the system. Having said that, while this specific strain has been in the news lately, Salmonella has been in existence for centuries. The turkey industry has been working together for many years to reduce Salmonella. Despite these efforts, this particular Salmonella strain can be found in 29 different manufacturing plants from 19 different companies, according to government agencies.”

Lykken added that Jennie-O is actively taking steps to educate consumers on how to safely handle and prepare raw turkey, and since Salmonella incidences are not specific to Jennie-O Turkey Store, the company is calling on others in the industry to do the same.

“We will continue to collaborate on industry best practices with our peers in the turkey industry,” he said.

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