Turkey farm cited in federal public health alert

A public health alert has been issued for more than 105 tons of raw ground turkey products potentially linked to salmonella illness that came from a Pennsylvania farm.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service issued the alert for 211,406 pounds of ground turkey produced by Plainville Brands LLC of New Oxford, Adams County.

The affected products were shipped to stores nationwide and have January “use by/freeze/sell by” dates. The health alert said there were concerns that “some product may be frozen and in consumers’ freezers.”

The department, in a news release Saturday night, said a recall was not requested because it is believed that the products are no longer available for consumers to purchase.

A list of states and stores where the products was sold was not included with the health alert. However, two of the four affected products were sold at Wegmans under the grocer’s name. Another affected product is under the brand name “Nature’s Promise,” which sells at various stores, including Giant supermarkets.

Consumers who have the ground turkey are urged not to consume it, the government said. The products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

The health alert comes as the USDA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health and regulatory officials investigate an outbreak of 28 salmonella hadar illnesses in 12 states Dec. 28 to March 4.

“Consumption of food contaminated with salmonella can cause salmonellosis, one of the most common bacterial foodborne illnesses,” the USDA said. The most common symptoms of salmonellosis are diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever 12-72 hours after eating the contaminated product, and the illness can last four to seven days.

Consumers with questions can contact Yusef Robb at 323-3841789 or by email at yusef@tkcommunicationsllc.com, according to the USDA. For food safety questions, call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-6746854. You can also live chat via Ask USDA from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday at ask. usda.gov/s/.