A consumer group has found evidence of high levels of disease-causing salmonella in raw turkey products from five US plants, including those owned by ConAgra Foods and Cargill, reports Reuters.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest said it obtained data from the US Agriculture Department that showed nearly half of the turkeys processed at a ConAgra Colorado plant last year were contaminated with salmonella.
Salmonella can cause vomiting, diarrhoea and fever in healthy adults and can be fatal for elderly people or those with weak immune systems. US health officials estimate that 600 Americans die from salmonella each year, out of 1.4 million cases.
The group claim that the the data was collected by the US Agriculture Department between April and October 2001.
Food safety director with Center for Science in the Public Interest Caroline Smith DeWaal said the state department examined 38 turkey plants and found 22 plants with contamination rates below 11 per cent. The industry average was 13 per cent.
"While some plants are doing an excellent job at eliminating salmonella from their products, others are having much less success," DeWaal said.
ConAgra said it has taken steps to improve food safety at the Colorado plant, including enhanced sanitation on turkey farms and additional washing of birds during slaughtering.
ConAgra spokeswoman Julie DeYoung said industry testing in the last two months found less than 20 per cent of the plant's turkey products with salmonella.
The data also found 32 per cent of turkeys produced at Cargill's Plantation Foods plant in Waco, Texas, were tainted with the bacteria. But another Cargill plant tested by the officials averaged less than two per cent for salmonella.
Cargill said the company has invested millions of dollars in new equipment at the plant, which it acquired in 1998, to reduce the presence of salmonella.
"We've identified improving our salmonella levels as an opportunity and we invested significant capital to address it," said Cargill spokesman Mark Klein. The company said it expects much lower incidence of salmonella contamination in the products this year.
American consumer groups have been urging the government to carry out rigid enforcement of food safety regulations. They also want the Agriculture Department to publish its salmonella test data on the Internet so consumers can choose to buy turkey, ground beef or chicken from the cleanest plants.