Salmonella outbreak leads to largest meat recall in U.S. history.

Story from The Takeaway. Listen to audio above for full report.

One person has died and at least 76 are ill after being exposed to a salmonella outbreak traced back to a Cargill meat production plant in Arkansas. Cargill is recalling 36 million pounds of ground turkey possibly tainted with Salmonella Heidelberg, a strain of the sickness that is resistant to antibiotics. This is believed to be the largest meat recalls in U.S. history.

William Neuman wrote about the outbreak and the government’s response in The New York Times. He told The Takeaway that most of the raw meat consumers purchase contain a number of bacteria.

“Something like 10 to 15 percent of ground turkey that’s tested has salmonella in it, and much of that is often resistant to antibiotics,” he said.

The bacteria is killed off when the meat is cooked. Neuman believes cross-contamination is the likely cause: not properly washing hands and utensils can spread the bacteria.

This is believed to be the largest meat recall in U.S. history.

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