When news broke that MRSA had been identified in British turkeys, you could imagine the glint in the tabloid hacks’ eyes.

With less than a month to go until Christmas, it was a (macabre) dream come true.

Headline writers went wild, with The Express serving up: ‘Christmas alert as MRSA strain is found in turkeys’.

Read on and it’s clear that there is very little risk to humans from catching the particular strain of MRSA identified – an entirely different one from the hospital superbug we’ve come to fear.

Now, less than 24 hours after news broke, the scare appears to have considerably died down, if not blown over (famous last words: see Fish re. 1987 storm).

That could be thanks to the newly dubbed ‘Higella’, whose alleged activities stole the headlines from the turkey non-crisis.

Or it could be down to the astute handling of the turkey story by the government agencies involved, having spotted the potential for it to get out of control.

Last night’s press release announcing the presence of MRSA included quotes from no less than three experts downplaying the threat posed by the bacteria, and the farm was not named. Defra also openly admit that when the affected fowl are slaughtered, their meat will go into the supply chain.

Whoever saved the day – government press officers or Saatchi’s ex – the story appears to have disappeared faster than you can say Turkey Twizzler.

That’s even more surprising as it’s only a few months after horsegate (a reference to which Mail Online managed to cram into its turkey story).

For now, The Grocer will be keeping a close eye on the situation. In the meantime, here’s a link to Nigella’s Perfect Xmas Turkey recipe.

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