DeFusco's Salmonella Outbreak in R.I. Sickened 11 at Warwick Nursing Home
The DeFusco Salmonella outbreak in Rhode Island first caught the attention of public health officials when 11 residents of the West Shore Health Center, a Warwick nursing home, fell ill, according to a report in the Providence Journal newspaper. Seven of the West Shore residents were so infected with Salmonella they needed hospitalization.
In all, 33 people are being counted by the Rhode Island Department of Health as confirmed or suspected victims of the outbreak. Seventeen of those were hospitalized, a HEALTH spokeswoman told the Journal. The high rate of hospitalization in this outbreak is being attributed to the inclusion of large numbers of older adults whose weakened immune systems make them more susceptible to complications.
At Warwick's West Shore Health Center, interviews revealed that all of those who were sickened had eaten cream-filled DeFusco's zeppoles that were brought in as a special treat. Health inspectors went to the DeFusco's Johnston outlet, which is both a store and a production facility. The business voluntarily shut down and all of DeFusco’s products were recalled. At the facility, inspectors found two fundamental food safety hazards and other problems. The Journal put it this way based on an interview with HEALTH spokeswoman Annmarie Beardsworth:
"The custard filling is supposed to be cooled to 70 degrees within two hours and to 40 degrees within four hours of preparation, to prevent the growth of bacteria. But on Friday, six hours after the filling was made, five-gallon buckets left to cool on the floor were measured at 125 degrees and 119 degrees. Additionally, inspectors found that pastry shells for both the zeppole and the éclairs had been stored in crates that previously held raw eggs. If an infected egg had cracked in the box, residue containing salmonella could have come in contact with the shells.''
Law firm PritzkerOlsen, P.A., and its attorney David Szerlag, who is a member of the Rhode Island Bar Association, are accepting cases from victims of this outbreak -- one of the biggest foodborne illness outbreaks in Rhode Island in recent years. David can be reached at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or submit a form online and he or another lawyer from our firm will contact you.
A DeFusco's Salmonella lawsuit could help families recover from medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages and other harms by holding the responsible parties accountable for a dangerous outbreak of food poisoning. Pritzker Olsen is one of the very few law firms in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness and has collected tens of millions of dollars for victims of Salmonella and other human pathogens in food.
