The National Turkey Federation says a magazine with a national reputation for balanced research got it wrong. Federation president Joel Brandenberger says Consumer Reports missed an opportunity to foster a thoughtful debate on food safety and animal production practices in its recent report on ground turkey.

“And, instead,” he says, “We saw something sensationalized that will certainly sell magazines, certainly get media attention. But, sadly, it’s really misleading to their readers and everybody who’s heard about the report.”

Consumer Reports says it found high levels of generic E. coli and another pathogen not considered a source of foodborne illness that they say are highly antibiotic resistant — on samples of ground turkey. He points out that those bacteria are on everything, even people.

In contrast, Consumer Reports found very few pathogens which cause the highest public health concerns. It found NO Campolybacter and less than five percent of Salmonella bacteria – but did NOT highlight that finding. Brandenberg says the government wisely conducts thousands of tests each month for Salmonella.

“We have gotten to the point where this naturally occurring organism is showing up in only slightly more than 10-percent of ground turkey out there — Consumer Reports’ findings were even lower – and showing up in less than three percent of whole turkeys.”

Brandenberger says consumers have the final control on killing ANY pathogens in ground turkey, or any meat, by handling it properly in the kitchen and cooking it to at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

AUDIO: Joel Brandenberg (21:15 MIN)