"How long can a turkey be kept in the freezer?" This question is often heard by the food safety specialists answering USDA's Meat and Poultry Hotline. Although the optimum freezing time for quality - best flavor and texture - is 1 year, consumers are usually surprised to learn that, from a safety standpoint, frozen turkeys may be kept indefinitely in a freezer.
People ask hundreds of other questions about turkeys - from the time they are hatched on the farm until they make it home to the freezer.
Although turkey is enjoyed year round, the peak time for buying, cooking, and storing whole turkeys is the November and December holiday season. This is the time we see a large increase in the number of whole turkeys for sale in our local grocery stores.
To ensure that the supply of whole birds is adequate to meet consumer holiday demands, each year during the month of May, millions of turkey eggs are put into incubators. After about 4 weeks of incubation, a baby turkey (poult) is hatched. The poults are then moved from the hatcheries to barns that are environmentally controlled, providing maximum protection from predators, disease, and bad weather. For the next 4 to 5 months (depending on the desired market weight), these turkeys roam freely around the barn, eating their way through many pounds of feed (consisting mainly of corn and soybean meal along with a supplement of vitamins and minerals).
Hormones are not given to turkeys. Antibiotics may be given to prevent disease and increase feed efficiency. When antibiotics are used, government regulations require a "withdrawal" period to ensure birds are free from any residues prior to slaughter. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) randomly samples turkeys at slaughter to test for residues. Under the Federal meat and poultry inspection laws, any raw meat or poultry shown to contain residues above established tolerance levels is considered adulterated and must be condemned.
When turkeys reach the desired weight, they are taken from the farm to the slaughter plant. FSIS veterinarians look at the live birds, checking for any that may be sick or injured. As the process continues, each turkey carcass, along with its giblets, is inspected to check for disease or contamination. Any questionable birds are pulled off the line for closer scrutiny.
FSIS requires each turkey plant to have Sanitary Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs). Every plant employee uses the SSOPs to be sure that any equipment, employee hands, tools, machines, and packaging that touch turkeys or giblets are clean and protected from dangerous chemicals or materials.
To prevent foodborne hazards, FSIS also requires each turkey plant to have a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan. This requires each turkey plant to analyze the processes by which it produces whole turkeys, turkey parts, turkey giblets, and other turkey products. Each production procedure is studied to find any food safety hazard that is likely to occur and to eliminate that possibility. All plants are under HACCP.
FSIS experts in food safety provide technical information to turkey plants about food hazards and how to prevent them. FSIS veterinarians and inspectors check every day to see that the SSOPs and the HACCP plan are being carefully followed.
Turkeys are inspected for wholesomeness and randomly tested for generic Escherichia coli and Salmonella. Although not mandatory, grading may also be done.
Turkeys continue through the processing either as whole birds or in parts. They are frequently washed and kept chilled throughout the entire process to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria. Whole birds are chilled in ice, water, or in a mixture of ice and water.
Those to be sold fresh are quick-chilled to 40 °F or lower, but must not go below a temperature of 26 °F. Fresh turkeys should be refrigerated and used within 1 to 2 days from purchase, or they can be frozen for safe keeping.
Those to be sold frozen are rapidly frozen in blast freezers. The commercial blast freezer quickly takes the turkey to a freezing temperature, ensuring optimum safety and quality. They are then stored in freezers at 0 °F or below. Both fresh and frozen turkeys are transported in refrigerated trucks to their destination.
|