California state health officials confirmed Tuesday that the nationwide Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak linked to ground turkey has claimed one life in Sacramento County. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the antibiotic-resistant salmonella strain, which has been found in ground turkey samples, is responsible for a total of 77 illnesses in 26 states, but federal food safety officials are not implicating any one company or initiating a recall.

"Despite an extensive investigation by [USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service] and CDC to date, there is little epidemiological information available at this time that conclusively links these illnesses to any specific product or establishment," said FSIS spokesman Neil Gaffney. "Without specific enough data, it would not be appropriate to issue a recall notice. FSIS is committed to continuing this investigation in order to obtain the additional information necessary to find the source of this outbreak, and take appropriate action to protect public health."

The agency, which is charged with assuring the safety of the nation's meat, poultry, and processed egg products, issued a public health alert on Friday urging consumers to use caution when handling raw turkey and to, as always, cook all poultry products to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. The most recent CDC update says officials found four retail ground turkey samples to be positive for the same strain of Salmonella Heidelberg between early March and late June.

"Preliminary information indicates that three of these products originated from a common production establishment; the fourth is still under investigation," according to CDC. The samples were maintained as part of routine sampling for the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS), and have "not been linked to illnesses." Salmonella is not considered in adulterant in meat products, so a positive sample does not automatically spark a recall. .

Local, state and federal public health officials are collecting information (such as date and location of purchase of ground turkey) from ill persons to conduct traceback investigations, according to CDC.

More than half the states are reporting at least one illness, among them, California, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin have the most people linked to the outbreak.

California is reporting two illnesses, including the fatality, in Sacramento county, as well as four other cases in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Riverside counties.

Illinois reported seven illnesses, with a broad range of ages--from three to 60. Press accounts say Illinois Department of Public health confirmed illnesses are from Oak Park and Cass, DuPage, Madison, Peoria, Will and Williamson counties.  Illnesses ranged from March to late June.

In Michigan, ten residents have been linked to the outbreak, including six in Wayne County, and four individuals in Genesee, Bay, Berrien and Eaton counties. A Michigan Department of Health official told news outlets illnesses were reported between May 7 and July 2.

Two adults and an infant in Wisconsin--from Dane, Kenosha and Milwaukee counties--have been linked to the outbreak. A State Department of Health Services spokeswoman told local media that one person was hospitalized but all have recovered. Illnesses spanned between April and early June.

In Ohio, illnesses began for ten residents between April 22 to June 26, according to the Ohio health department. Seven were males, ranging in age from five to 72, three from Cuyahoga County, and others from Franklin, Lake, Lorain, Lucas Mongomery, Summit, and Warren counties, according to local press accounts.

Pennsylvania has five cases and Texas is reporting nine. Arizona, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, and Tennessee all have reported two cases each. Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Oregon have one each, according to CDC.

Cargill under investigation

Late Tuesday night, the New York Times reported that meat and poultry giant Cargill has been contacted as part of the federal investigation into the cause of the outbreak.

The company and it's subsidiaries market a wide variety of turkey products, including Marval, Honeysuckle White, and Riverside brands.

"We are cooperating with the agency's ongoing investigation into the source of the illnesses," Mike Martin, a Cargill spokesman, said in an e-mail message to the Times.

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