Nov. 19, 2003 -- Is your Thanksgiving turkey crawling with germ
Nov. 19, 2003 -- Is your Thanksgiving turkey crawling with germs? Nobody knows, a consumer group reports.
Last year, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) got a list of 38 turkey plants tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In the worst plants, one-fourth to one-half of all turkeys carried Salmonella, a dangerous food-poisoning germ. In the best plants, fewer than two in 100 turkeys were infected. The list ruffled feathers by naming the good and bad turkeys by brand name.
When CSPI tried to get this year's list, they found out that USDA tested only one plant. That Michigan plant, which puts out Golden Legacy brand birds, was on the "good bird" list last year. It would have been on this year's "good bird" list, too -- if there were a list.
"Who is the turkey at USDA that stopped testing turkeys for Salmonella?" Caroline Smith DeWaal, CSPI food safety director, says in a news release.
That's a funny line. But Salmonella isn't a joke. Every year it makes 1.3 million Americans sick. Salmonella poisoning leads to 15,000 trips to the hospital -- and more than 500 deaths -- every year.
Chicken plants get annual Salmonella tests. It's not clear why turkey plants aren't getting the same treatment. According to the National Turkey Federation, the average American eats nearly 18 pounds of turkey a year.
CSPI urges citizens to write to Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman asking for turkey testing. The consumer group wants the birds tested not only for Salmonella, but also for another important food-poisoning germ, Campylobacter.
Make Your Turkey Safe
You can't be sure your bird isn't carrying germs. But you can prevent food poisoning by treating every bird as if it were infected. Proper thawing and cooking ensures a safe and delicious Thanksgiving turkey.
CSPI offers these tips:
- Treat every turkey as if it carries germs.
- Don't ever use a hair dryer to fast-thaw a frozen turkey. It won't thaw the inside of the bird, and it promotes contamination on the outside.
- Thaw turkeys in the refrigerator, microwave, or in cold water.
- If thawing in the refrigerator, here's how to avoid a still-frozen bird at cooking time: Allow 24 hours of thawing for every 5 pounds of turkey.
- If thawing in cold water, change the water every 30 minutes. This technique takes 30 minutes for every pound of turkey.
- Don't clean your turkey with soap. It can leave behind chemical residues that are bad for you.
- Do use hot, soapy water to clean everything that comes in contact with raw turkey. This means your hands, counter tops, utensils, or the sink.
- When the turkey is thawed, rinse it inside and out with cold water. Put the turkey in the pan -- and don't forget to scrub the sink with soap and hot water.
- Cook your turkey in the oven at 325 degrees or higher. Keep cooking until a meat thermometer reads 180 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh.
- For safer stuffing and to ensure thorough cooking of the turkey, don't stuff the bird. Cook the stuffing outside the turkey.
- Don't leave turkey standing on the counter. It should be refrigerated within two hours after the meal. Cut the turkey into pieces, and put them in shallow containers for quick chilling.
- Eat, freeze, or throw out all leftovers within four days of the meal.
