Before you gobble down any turkey products, first make sure that they aren’t part of the Butterball recall. Some consumers have found pieces of blue plastic in their raw ground turkey from Butterball, LLC. This has prompted the Mount Olive, North Carolina-based company to recall ground turkey products that were produced on September 28, according to announcement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
Take a guess as to how many pounds of turkey products may be affected by the recall. If had guessed one pound, then you’d be off by approximately 14,106 pounds. Yes, the recall should involve around 14,107 pounds of two types of ground turkey products.
One of these products is the “farm to family BUTTERBALL all natural Ground Turkey.” This should be in a 2.5 pound tray bearing the case code number 50211271 and a sell or freeze by date of October 18, 2021. The other product is the “Kroger GROUND TURKEY,” which comes in a 3 pound tray bearing a case code number of 50211271 and a sell or freeze by date of October 17, 2021. Both should have “EST. P-7345” within the USDA mark of inspection, because that’s the lot where the plastic contamination probably occurred.
Of course, if you are at a restaurant, they probably won’t be serving your food in the original raw turkey packaging. That would be a bit odd and disconcerting. So before ordering the turkey burger, the turkey meatloaf, or the turkey log cabin, you may want to first ask the restaurant where they get their turkey products from and whether they are aware of the Butterball recall. Asking this in a Thor voice may or may not be more effective.
Naturally, it’s better to have your turkey plastic-free. The “surprise” in Turkey Surprise shouldn’t be shards of plastic. Now most small non-sharp pieces of plastic should pass through your gastrointestinal tract (GI) fairly readily. Typically after one to two days, poop there is. However, the concern is that sharper or larger pieces of plastic may get lodged somewhere along your GI tract and cause some damage to the lining. The FSIS did indicate that so far there haven’t been any confirmed reports of injuries from any plastic in turkey.
So check your turkey and turkey products. If you have one of the products covered by the recall, don’t consume it. Instead, return the product for a refund. After all, turkey with plastic is not fantastic