Salmonella Pepper Supply Chain Probed
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is investigating the supply chain of black pepper used in the making of 1.6 million pounds of coated salami and other ready-to-eat meats recalled by Daniele Inc. of Pascoag, Rhode Island.
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The recalled salame products have been linked to a 42-state outbreak of Salmonella Montevideo that has sickened at least 213 people and sent an estimated 55 people to the hospital. No deaths have been reported.
A significant amount of people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella didn't eat salami the week before getting ill, which has given investigators reason to look for other pepper-containing food products as additional sources of the outbreak.
Rhode Island's own health department confirmed through DNA testing that unopened containers of pepper at Daniele were contaminated with the outbreak strain of Salmonella. The company had suspected it. The pepper was traced to two suppliers who sourced pepper from the same manufacturer.
The first illnesses in this outbreak occurred in early July 2009, but it wasn't until January that Oregon and Washington health officials locked onto salami as a potential cause. As so often is the case in food poisoning investigations, interviews conducted with ill persons made the difference. Once a correlation was found, DNA fingerprinting confirmed it was correct.
The successful case-control study in this outbreak compared foods eaten by 41 ill and 41 well persons. Preliminary analysis of this study suggested salami as a possible source of illness. Ill persons (58%) were significantly more likely than well persons (16%) to report eating salami. Additionally, 16 ill persons have been identified who purchased the same type of sliced salami variety pack at different grocery store locations before becoming ill.
National food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen is monitoring the outbreak investigation and is continuing to accept cases from this outbreak. As a leading practitioner of foodborne illness litigation, we are involved in practically every major outbreak and we have collected tens of millions for victims.
We have experience representing victims made seriously ill by Salmonella, including a woman who spent two weeks in an Arizona hospital last year after consuming contaminated pepper at a Reno resort where a cluster of other people also got sick.
For a free case consultation call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or complete the contact form on the side of this Web page.
Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12–72 hours after infection. Infection is usually diagnosed by culture of a stool sample, so it is important to see a doctor. The illness usually lasts from 4 to 7 days.
Although most people recover without treatment, severe infections may occur. Infants, elderly persons, and those with weakened immune systems are more likely than others to develop severe illness. When severe infection occurs, Salmonella may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and then to other body sites and can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics.
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The two additional Daniele Inc. products weighing a total of 23,754 pounds were recalled after the Rhode Island Department of Health cited pepper salami coatings as the probable cause of the outbreak that has sickened 207 people in 42 states and the District of Columbia. Inspectors founds the outbreak strain of Salmonella in two unopened containers of pepper at Daniele's plant. New to the recall:
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The finding has prompted an additional recall of 17,235 pounds of hot sopressata calabres Italian sausage in 3 to 3.5-pound packages under the Daniele and Boar's Head brand names. The USDA's .jpg)
The farm is licensed by the state to sell raw milk but it has temporarily halted production after preliminary tests showed Campylobacter contamination, according to a press release from the state..jpg)
Rhode Island health officials discovered the outbreak strain of Salmonella in an open pepper container at the plant where the salami is made and two other government labs confirmed the outbreak strain of Samonella in products that have been recalled. 
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The discovery will trigger additional study by state and federal health inspectors to identify the supplier and determine if other peppered products have contributed to the outbreak. More recalls could be announced soon.
