Interagency bumbling, lax regulations let problem go unaddressed
(NEWSER) - Mammoth meat packer Cargill recalled a whopping 36 million pounds of ground turkey last week, but federal officials knew of salmonella contamination at a Cargill plant dating back to last year, reports the Wall Street Journal . It seems that a USDA inspection turned up three instances of salmonella Heidelberg at Cargill's Arkansas plant in 2010, which were "brought to the attention of the facility"; federal regulations, however, allow up to 49.9% of tests to be positive as salmonella isn't considered a dangerous adulterant unless it causes death. Problem: The Heidelberg strain involved in the recall is antibiotic-resistant and can be fatal. More»
