During Thanksgiving preparations in 2012, Martha Stewart got salmonella from handling turkeys. Reports said she became ill after working with multiple birds while preparing for the holiday, turning a celebrity kitchen story into a food-safety lesson.
Salmonella is a group of bacteria that can cause salmonellosis, an illness commonly associated with contaminated food. Raw poultry can carry the bacteria, and it can spread from hands, utensils, cutting boards, sinks, or countertops to foods that will not be cooked.
The incident highlighted an important distinction: salmonella does not usually come from simply eating a properly cooked turkey. The greater preparation risk is cross-contamination or undercooking. Poultry should be cooked until its thickest parts reach a safe internal temperature, and hands and surfaces should be washed after contact with raw meat.
The story is also easy to misremember as ordinary “turkey poisoning.” The specific answer in the 2012 Martha Stewart report was salmonella, the bacterial infection linked to her Thanksgiving turkey preparation.