WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Improper packaging of two fresh turkeys is the suspected cause of an objectionable odor that prompted Shaw’s supermarkets to pull thousands of the birds from their shelves.
The turkeys, supplied by Prestage Farms of North Carolina, likely had loose clips on their packaging that exposed the birds to air, according to Ken Braswell, the general manager for the farm. Two complaints of foul-smelling birds prompted the poultry supplier to put out an advisory to its customers.
“Two is two too many,” said Braswell. “We’ve never had a complaint before.”
The advisory prompted Shaw’s to remove the birds Thursday from its coolers. Refunds or store credits are available to any customer who wants to return a bird from the affected shipment. The turkeys had sell-by dates between March 28 and April 2 and weighed between 10 and 14 pounds.
Braswell said thousands of turkeys were included in the advisory. Prestage Farms is a regular supplier of turkeys to Shaw’s Supermarkets and Star Markets in New England, including 23 Shaw’s stores in Maine.
Although Shaw’s spokesman Terry Donilon said there was no health risk posed by the turkeys, the supermarket decided to pull the birds because they didn’t meet quality standards. State health officials were notified of the action as a courtesy, said Donilon.
He said he had no firm figure on how many birds were returned to stores, but expected it was a “small smattering.”
“Turkey is not a big product for us at Easter,” he said. “It’s not like Thanksgiving or Christmas.”
He apologized to customers inconvenienced by the advisory. Customers may return their turkeys to their local Shaw’s store for a refund or credit if they choose.
“We think it (pulling the turkeys) was the responsible thing to do,” he said. “We’ll do everything in our power to avoid having this happen again.”
Both Donilon and Braswell declined to say how much money the companies lost as a result of the advisory. Donilon also declined to say whether the stores increased their supply of turkey as part of a recent promotion offering customers a choice between a free ham or turkey if they spent $400 over a month’s time. He did say there was sufficient turkey to meet the expected demand from the giveaway promotion.
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