ABSTRACTAn evaluation of the microbial quality of 50 samples of frozen comminuted turkey meat purchased at retail markets revealed the following mean levels of contamination per gram; standard plate count, 9.4 × 107; psychrotrophic plate count, 2.4 × 107; coliform plate and MPN counts, 47 and 110, respectively; Escherichia coli plate and MPN counts, 32 and 93, respectively; Staphylococcus aureus MPN, 6; and fecal streptococci, 180. Sulrnonella sp. were isolated from 38% of samples while Clostridium perfringens was isolated from 20%. Various species of primarily mesophilic aerobic gram‐positive and gram‐negative organisms were isolated and identified. The results of this study indicate that this product carries a dense and diverse microbial load.