Chicken Checker 🐔🦃 See how often salmonella was found at the plant that processed your chicken or turkey.

Martin's Specialty Sausage Company, Mickleton, N.J.
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P5351 • Medium plant Data from March 2021 to March 2022

How This Plant Compares
High-risk salmonella was found more often on the ground chicken at this Martin's Specialty Sausage Company plant than at other poultry plants.
How Likely Am I To Get Sick?

Your likelihood of getting sick depends on many factors, including: how the poultry is cooked and handled; your immune system; and the quantity and types of salmonella present. “High-risk” salmonella strains are more likely to cause illness than “low-risk” types. According to the CDC, if you avoid cross-contamination and cook the poultry to 165°F, the meat should be safe to eat even if it had high-risk salmonella. Learn more about safe handling and cooking techniques from the CDC.

Help ProPublica track the poultry supply chain. Tell us where you shopped.
Did This Plant Meet The USDA Standard For Ground Chicken?

This plant failed the USDA standard for ground chicken because salmonella was found in more than 25% of samples. In total, 40.0% of the ground chicken samples had salmonella of any type.

Plants that fail this standard are required to undergo additional USDA testing and may face additional scrutiny. But the USDA does not have the authority to shut down facilities even when their salmonella rates repeatedly exceed the agency’s thresholds.

Routine Testing Results

The USDA tested 40 ground chicken samples from this plant over the past year. About a third of the ​ ​samples had a strain of salmonella resistant to antibiotics commonly used to treat infections. The plant processed an estimated 100,000 to 1 million pounds of meat and poultry in total each month.

High-risk salmonella, not antibiotic-resistant: 2
Low-risk salmonella, not antibiotic-resistant: 1
No salmonella found: 24
High-risk, antibiotic-resistant: 12
Low-risk, antibiotic-resistant: 1
No ground chicken tested: 325
High-risk salmonella, not antibiotic-resistant: 2
Low-risk salmonella, not antibiotic-resistant: 1
High-risk, antibiotic-resistant: 12
Low-risk, antibiotic-resistant: 1
No salmonella found: 24
No ground chicken tested: 325
Multiple samples were taken on days marked with an *
Types of Salmonella Found

There are more than 2,500 types of salmonella, but fewer than 100 account for most human infections. Below are the types of salmonella found in this plant’s ground chicken. The USDA does not measure the quantity of salmonella in each poultry sample, only whether or not salmonella is present.

The reported number of cases below are from the 10 states that participate in the CDC’s surveillance program and include cases linked to consumption of all foods, including poultry. These numbers are known undercounts— the CDC estimates that almost 30 cases of salmonella illness go unreported for every case that is confirmed by a lab.

Infantis is a high-risk type of salmonella that was found in 10 of the plant’s ground chicken samples. From 2011 to 2020, Infantis caused at least 1,852 salmonella infections in the U.S. Of those, 479 (26%) people were hospitalized and five (0.3%) people died.

Enteritidis is a high-risk type of salmonella that was found in one of the plant’s ground chicken samples. From 2011 to 2020, Enteritidis caused at least 12,940 salmonella infections in the U.S. Of those, 3,688 (29%) people were hospitalized and 74 (0.6%) people died.

Schwarzengrund is a high-risk type of salmonella that was found in one of the plant’s ground chicken samples. From 2011 to 2020, Schwarzengrund caused at least 233 salmonella infections in the U.S. Of those, 89 (38%) people were hospitalized. No deaths were reported.

Thompson is a high-risk type of salmonella that was found in one of the plant’s ground chicken samples. From 2011 to 2020, Thompson caused at least 1,082 salmonella infections in the U.S. Of those, 265 (24%) people were hospitalized and one (0.1%) people died.

Typhimurium is a high-risk type of salmonella that was found in one of the plant’s ground chicken samples. From 2011 to 2020, Typhimurium caused at least 7,785 salmonella infections in the U.S. Of those, 2,360 (30%) people were hospitalized and 52 (0.7%) people died.

Kentucky is a low-risk type of salmonella that was found in two of the plant’s ground chicken samples. From 2011 to 2020, Kentucky caused at least 119 salmonella infections in the U.S. Of those, 23 (19%) people were hospitalized. No deaths were reported.

How This Plant Compares
High-risk salmonella was found more often on the ground turkey at this Martin's Specialty Sausage Company plant than at other poultry plants.
How Likely Am I To Get Sick?

Your likelihood of getting sick depends on many factors, including: how the poultry is cooked and handled; your immune system; and the quantity and types of salmonella present. “High-risk” salmonella strains are more likely to cause illness than “low-risk” types. According to the CDC, if you avoid cross-contamination and cook the poultry to 165°F, the meat should be safe to eat even if it had high-risk salmonella. Learn more about safe handling and cooking techniques from the CDC.

Help ProPublica track the poultry supply chain. Tell us where you shopped.
Did This Plant Meet The USDA Standard For Ground Turkey?

This plant failed the USDA standard for ground turkey because salmonella was found in more than 13.5% of samples. In total, 21.4% of the ground turkey samples had salmonella of any type.

Plants that fail this standard are required to undergo additional USDA testing and may face additional scrutiny. But the USDA does not have the authority to shut down facilities even when their salmonella rates repeatedly exceed the agency’s thresholds.

Routine Testing Results

The USDA tested 14 ground turkey samples from this plant over the past year. One in seven ​ ​samples had a strain of salmonella resistant to antibiotics commonly used to treat infections. The plant processed an estimated 100,000 to 1 million pounds of meat and poultry in total each month.

High-risk salmonella, not antibiotic-resistant: 1
Low-risk salmonella, not antibiotic-resistant: 0
No salmonella found: 11
High-risk, antibiotic-resistant: 2
Low-risk, antibiotic-resistant: 0
No ground turkey tested: 351
High-risk salmonella, not antibiotic-resistant: 1
Low-risk salmonella, not antibiotic-resistant: 0
High-risk, antibiotic-resistant: 2
Low-risk, antibiotic-resistant: 0
No salmonella found: 11
No ground turkey tested: 351
Multiple samples were taken on days marked with an *
Types of Salmonella Found

There are more than 2,500 types of salmonella, but fewer than 100 account for most human infections. Below are the types of salmonella found in this plant’s ground turkey. The USDA does not measure the quantity of salmonella in each poultry sample, only whether or not salmonella is present.

The reported number of cases below are from the 10 states that participate in the CDC’s surveillance program and include cases linked to consumption of all foods, including poultry. These numbers are known undercounts— the CDC estimates that almost 30 cases of salmonella illness go unreported for every case that is confirmed by a lab.

Typhimurium is a high-risk type of salmonella that was found in one of the plant’s ground turkey samples. From 2011 to 2020, Typhimurium caused at least 7,785 salmonella infections in the U.S. Of those, 2,360 (30%) people were hospitalized and 52 (0.7%) people died.

Anatum is a high-risk type of salmonella that was found in one of the plant’s ground turkey samples. From 2011 to 2020, Anatum caused at least 369 salmonella infections in the U.S. Of those, 80 (22%) people were hospitalized and two (0.5%) people died.

Reading is a high-risk type of salmonella that was found in one of the plant’s ground turkey samples. From 2011 to 2020, Reading caused at least 259 salmonella infections in the U.S. Of those, 87 (34%) people were hospitalized and two (0.8%) people died.

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There are more than 2,500 types of salmonella. “High-risk” types more commonly cause people to get sick, according to the CDC. “Low-risk” types are rarely linked to illness in the United States.
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