Ground turkey, also known as turkey mince or minced turkey, is a mixture of

dark Darkness is the condition resulting from a lack of illumination, or an absence of visible light. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low luminance because the hue-sensitive photoreceptor cells on the retina are ...

and

light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

turkey

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

with remaining

skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...

and visible

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

processed together and

minced Mincing is a food preparation technique in which ingredients are finely divided into uniform pieces. Originally carried out with a knife or , mincing became widely done with machines developed in the nineteenth century. History To mince in the ...

until a "ground" form emerges.Wong, Michael K., Wong, Michael K., Joseph Sampugna, and Lynn E. Dickey. "Moisture, Total Lipid, Fatty Acids, and Cholesterol in Raw Ground Turkey". ''Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry''. 41.8 (1993): 1229-1231. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.United States. Department of Agriculture. "Poultry Preparation: Ground Poultry and Food Safety." ''United States Department of Agriculture: Safety and Inspection Service''. GPO. 25 Aug. 2008. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. The turkey meat, skin, and fat is taken off the

bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

and processed with

additives Additive may refer to: Mathematics * Additive function, a function in number theory * Additive map, a function that preserves the addition operation * Additive set-function see Sigma additivity * Additive category, a preadditive category with fin ...

.Feoning, G. W., Gary Hargus and T.E. Hartung. Color and Texture of Ground Turkey Meat Products as Affected by Dried Egg White Solids. Vol. 47. Poultry Science Assn. Inc., 1968. BYU Harold B. Lee Library. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. The final product has specific characteristics that appeal to customers, including a non pink color and non crumbly texture. The composition of ground turkey is driven by market demand, availability, and meat prices. The majority of ground turkey is made from excess

thighs In anatomy, the thigh is the area between the hip (pelvis) and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb. The single bone in the thigh is called the femur. This bone is very thick and strong (due to the high proportion of bone tissue ...

and drumsticks rather than the more costly breast meat. Ground turkey is a common low-fat alternative for

ground beef Ground beef, hamburger, hamburger meat (North American English), minced beef or beef mince (Commonwealth English; often just generically referred to as ground meat, ''mince'' or ''mincemeat'') is beef that has been finely chopped with a knife or ...

Regulations

According to the US

National Turkey Federation The National Turkey Federation (NTF) is the non-profit national trade association based in Washington, D.C., United States, representing the turkey industry and its allies and affiliates. NTF advocates for all segments of the turkey industry, pr ...

(NTF), anything under the label ''ground turkey'' is "manufactured from whole muscle material such as drumstick, thighs, neck, etc., with all components, e.g. skin and adhering fat, in natural proportions." Ground turkey producers are not permitted to exceed these limits. The

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

(USDA) does not regulate the amount of fat contained in ground turkey. However, fat content must stay at or below natural levels, which are typically between 10% and 15%.

Labeling

The USDA does not require retailers to put a

nutrition label The nutrition facts label (also known as the nutrition information panel, and other slight variations) is a label required on most packaged food in many countries, showing what nutrients and other ingredients (to limit and get enough of) are in t ...

on ground turkey products. It is suggested to provide a nutrition label anyway, for the benefit of customers. There are two sets of circumstances under which some labeling is mandatory. First, the packaging must inform of any skin contained in the product. Second, the

Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) (Public Law 101-535) is a 1990 United States Federal law. It was signed into law on November 8, 1990 by President George H. W. Bush. The law gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority t ...

states that if the product is labeled "lean" or "extra lean," it needs a nutrition label for evidence.

Nutrition

The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry published a study on random ground turkey samples taken from eight different states and a variety of retailers in the United States. Analyzing moisture,

lipid Lipids are a broad group of organic compounds which include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include storing ...

, and

cholesterol Cholesterol is the principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body Tissue (biology), tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in Animal fat, animal fats and oils. Cholesterol is biosynthesis, biosynthesized by all anima ...

content, scientists found the means per 100 g of raw product. There is 72 g of moisture, 8.5 g of lipids, and 81 mg of cholesterol. Also analyzing the different turkey parts – dark meat, light meat, skin, and visible fat – they found lipid and cholesterol contents to vary based on the ratios of those parts in the product.

Fatty acids

The composition of

fatty acid In chemistry, in particular in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated and unsaturated compounds#Organic chemistry, saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an ...

s found in the ground turkey samples include cis-octadecenoates, linoleate, palmitate, stearate, cis-hexadecenoates, and trans-octadecenoates. Scientists found trans fatty acids in every sample due to the diets of turkeys. Ground turkey and ground beef have similar percentages of fatty acid content.

Visible fat

The average overall fat content per 100 g of ground turkey is 8.5 grams compared to 5.9 grams of total fat found in extra lean ground beef.

Cholesterol

In retail raw ground turkey samples, the mean cholesterol content is 81 mg per 100 g; similar to the mean of 78 mg per 100 g of raw ground beef product.

Food safety

According to the

American Meat Institute The American Meat Institute (AMI) was the oldest and largest trade association representing the U.S. meat and poultry industry. In 2015, it was merged into the North American Meat Institute (NAMI). Overview Founded in 1906 in Chicago as the Ame ...

(AMI), USDA inspectors oversee turkey plant operations and ensure that federal food safety rules are obeyed. The AMI Vice President James H. Hodges said that the turkey industry's preventative approach, including "a series of food safety hurdles" is key in reducing instances of harmful bacteria in turkey products.''American Meat Institute Says U.S. Turkey Supply Is Safe''. Reuters. Washington: PR Newswire, 3 Aug. 2011. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. Regulations emphasize keeping facilities and equipment sanitary at all times.

Safe handling

*Check expiration dates and follow the safe handling instructions printed on every package *Separate from non-packaged foods like produce *Wash hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds before and after handling the product *Cook to 74 °C (165 °F) *Wash all cooking supplies that contact the ground turkey *If there is a

product recall "Product Recall" is the twenty-first episode of the third season of the American comedy television series '' The Office'' and the show's forty-ninth episode overall. The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton b ...

, return it or dispose of it *Refrigerate leftovers right away

Salmonella

Strains of ''

salmonella ''Salmonella'' is a genus of bacillus (shape), rod-shaped, (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two known species of ''Salmonella'' are ''Salmonella enterica'' and ''Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' ...

'' have been found in ground turkey products. The Division of Animal and Food Microbiology Office of Research did a study on ''salmonella'' isolates in four retail

ground meat Ground meat, called mince or minced meat outside North America, is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder or a chopping knife. A common type of ground meat is ground beef, but many other types of meats are prepared in a similar fashion, incl ...

s- turkey, chicken, beef, and pork. The ground meats (including 50 samples of turkey) were collected from three retail markets in the Washington D.C. area and were processed and packaged at one of five plants. In the study, they isolated and characterized ''salmonella'' strains. They also found the isolates’

antibiotic resistant Antimicrobial resistance (AMR or AR) occurs when microbes evolve mechanisms that protect them from antimicrobials, which are drugs used to treat infections. This resistance affects all classes of microbes, including bacteria (antibiotic resist ...

phenotype In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology (physical form and structure), its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological propert ...

s. One ''salmonella'' isolate, ''s. enterica''

serotype A serotype or serovar is a distinct variation within a species of bacteria or virus or among immune cells of different individuals. These microorganisms, viruses, or Cell (biology), cells are classified together based on their shared reactivity ...

, was found to be more prevalent in ground turkey than other ground meats. 7 out of 10 (70%) of the ground turkey samples contained the isolate. On July 29, 2011 the

Food Safety and Inspection Service The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is the public health regulatory agency responsible for ensuring that United States' commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg prod ...

(FSIS) issued a public health alert, informing the public that ground turkey products may be the cause of illness associated with a strain of salmonella named Salmonella Heidelberg.United States. Department of Agriculture. Arkansas Firm Recalls Ground Turkey Products due to Possible Salmonella Contamination. Washington: GPO, 3 Aug. 2011. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. On August 3, 2011, Cargill Meat Solutions Inc. recalled 36 million pounds of ground turkey due to the possibility of salmonella contamination. The FSIS issued a Class 1 recall under FSIS-RC-060-2011. The USDA classifies a Class 1 Recall as a hazardous health situation where the chance of the product causing serious consequences or death is high. The recalled products have the establishment number "P-963" and were produced between February 20 and August 2, 2011. On September 11, 2011 the FSIS and Cargill Meat Solutions issued a Class 1 recall under FSIS-RC-071-2011. 185,000 pounds of ground turkey products were recalled based on the possibility of the products being contaminated with Salmonella Heidelberg (Xbal PFGE pattern 58/Blnl pattern 76), a strain that is resistant to ampicillin, gentamicin, streptomycin, and tetracycline. The recalled products were produced Aug. 23, 24, 30, and 31 of 2011, and are marked with the establishment number "P-963."United States. Department of Agriculture. Arkansas Firm Recalls Ground Turkey Products due to Possible Salmonella Contamination. Washington: GPO, 27 Sept. 2011. Web. 25 Oct. 2011.

Factors

A study from

Ankara University Ankara University () is a public university, public research university in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the History of the Republic of Turkey, formation of the Turkish republ ...

used a conventional culture technique to isolate ''salmonella'' to determine the seasonal effects on incidence rates in ground turkey. In spring, summer, and autumn, ''salmonella'' rates are highest (48%, 55%, and 63% respectively). During the winter season the frequency of ''salmonella'' significantly lowers to 16%. Due to the complexity of

food processing Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing takes many forms, from grinding grain into raw flour, home cooking, and complex industrial methods used in the mak ...

, ''salmonella'' found in processed turkey does not necessarily stem from the product itself. Before customers get the product, it goes through a series of phases including "

flock Flock, flocks or flocking may refer to: * Flock (birds), a gathering of individual birds to forage or travel collectively Arts and entertainment Music * ''Flock'' (Bell X1 album), 2005 * ''Flock'' (Jane Weaver album), 2021 * The Flock (band), ...

slaughterhouse In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a mea ...

processing Processing is a free graphics library and integrated development environment (IDE) built for the electronic arts, new media art, and visual design communities with the purpose of teaching non-programmers the fundamentals of computer programmin ...

distribution center A distribution center for a set of products is a warehouse or other specialized building, often with refrigeration or air conditioning, which is stocked with products (goods) to be redistributed to retailers, to wholesalers, or directly to c ...

s and

retail marketing Once the strategic plan is in place, retail managers turn to the more managerial aspects of planning. A retail mix is devised for the purpose of coordinating day-to-day tactical decisions. The retail marketing mix typically consists of six broad d ...

. The conditions of each of these environments influence whether or not the ground turkey becomes contaminated.

Antibiotic resistance

Certain strains of ''salmonella'' in ground turkey resist

antibiotics An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy ...

. Ankara University's study found ''salmonella'' in ground turkey resisted 25% of nalidixic acid, 17% of streptomycin, and 15% of tetracycline. Overall, approximately one out of ten of the samples had ''salmonella'' strains that were resistant to four or more antibiotics.

References

{{reflist Poultry products Ground meat