Cargill has resumed operations at the Springdale, Arkansas facility fingered as the source of the nationwide Salmonella ground turkey outbreak.  At least 107 people have been sickened in the outbreak, including a person who died, from an antibiotic resistant strain of Salmonella Heidelberg.

According to an AP report this morning, “Cargill spokesman Mike Martin says limited production has resumed after the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved additional anti-bacterial safety measures.” 

We will soon be able to find out exactly what “additional anti-bacterial safety measures” were added at the Cargill facility, as discovery will soon commence in the lawsuit we filed on behalf of a 1-year-old Oregon girl hospitalized for 7 days.  Can we assume that the measures do not include (1) testing for antibiotic resistant strains of Salmonella, as Cargill rejected our offer to withhold filing lawsuits in exchange for its agreement to start that testing program, (2) or the requirement that it act on any Salmonella positive test results, as the USDA, and undoubtedly Cargill too, relies on the antiquated notion that “just cooking it right” will prevent people from getting ill, so a certain level of Salmonella contamination is acceptable?

We will soon find out and let you know.