Frozen, raw turkey burgers recalled from Sam’s Club

Jennie-O Turkey is recalling 55,000 pounds of frozen, raw turkey burgers distributed exclusively at Sam’s Club stores nationwide because the meat may be contaminated with salmonella linked to illnesses of 13 people, including a northeast Ohio man who reported eating the turkey burgers, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service classified the health risk of this recall as “high” and said its investigation into the illnesses and the potentially tainted meat could result in the recall of additional raw turkey products.

The meat suspected of contamination are four-pound boxes of Jennie-O Turkey Store “All Natural Turkey Burgers with seasonings Lean White Meat.” Each box contains one dozen 1/3-pound individually wrapped burgers. A use by date of “DEC 23 2011” and an identifying lot code of “32710” through “32780” are inkjetted on the side panel of each box, just above the opening tear strip, according to the USDA. The products were packaged on Nov. 23, 2010, and were distributed to Sam’s Club stores nationwide. Anyone who purchased Jennie-O Turkey Store All Natural Lean White Meat Turkey Burgers from Sam’s Club stores with a USE BY date of DEC 23 2011 should return the product to a Sam’s Club store for a full refund, according to Jennie-O.

The investigation focused on a total of 13 people — in Ohio, Wisconsin, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, Washington and Wisconsin — who were diagnosed with a particular strain of salmonella infection, with illnesses occurring between December 2010 and March 2011, USDA’s food-safety officials said. The federal agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that three of the patients ispecifically reported eating the Jennie-O Turkey Burgers; the last of these illnesses was reported on March 14.

A spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Health said the Ohioan mentioned in the USDA news release as among those sickened is a 78-year-old man from Mahoning County.

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