Pepper Salami Salmonella Outbreak Update
Between January 23 and February 16, Daniele International Inc. of Pascoag, Rhode Island, recalled a total of 1.4 million pounds of salami products because they were believed to be contaminated with Salmonella Montevideo and/or Salmonella Senftenberg.
The company's Italian style sausage meat has been strongly associated with an outbreak of Salmonella Montevideo that has sickened at least 249 people in 44 states since last July. Another eight cases of Salmonella Senftenberg have been confirmed by investigators..jpg)
That's six more illnesses combined than were reported last week and the most recent onset of illness is marked as February 18. Other cases in the process of being confirmed have not yet been added to the overall count.
The Rhode Island Department of Public Health has found the outbreak strain of Salmonella Montevideo in samples of black and red pepper from Daniele's production plant. Since then, in domino fashion, two of Daniele's pepper suppliers have announced recalls and a couple of their customers have done the same.
See The Food Safety Lawyer for a comprehensive list of the recalls.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 26 percent of outbreak victims have been hospitalized. There have been no deaths.
If you or a loved one is a victim of this outbreak and have seen a physician, you may have legal questions about compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and other costs. For answers and a free case consultation, call national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen. We already represent a number of victims from this outbreak and we are continuing to accept cases at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free).
Salmonella infection can be overcome by healthy adults without treatment, but people should not take this form of food poisoning lightly. In the last national Salmonella outbreak, which was related to contaminated peanuts, nine people died and many more suffered long-term health consequences.
For victims of these preventable outbreaks, one of the long-term risks is a painful condition known as Reiter's Syndrome, or reactive arthritis (ReA). Other possible long-term consequences include infected bone marrow or inflamation of the aorta or the heart muscle.
