Probe Widening in Pepper Salami Salmonella Outbreak
The public health investigation into a 7-month-old Salmonella outbreak is widening and could possibly implicate other contaminated food products in addition to salami.
"It is possible that more than one food product may be causing illnesses,'' the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Monday in its latest update on the outbreak..jpg)
The CDC report said preliminary analysis of a recent study of the outbreak has suggested salami as a possible source of illness. Ill persons (51 percent) were significantly more likely than well persons (15 percent) to report eating salami.
Additionally, 11 ill persons purchased the same type of sliced salami variety pack at different grocery store locations before becoming ill. These data suggest this product may be the source of some of these illnesses, the CDC said. This sliced salami variety pack was recently recalled by Daniele Inc. as part of a 1.23 million-pound recall of products containing pepper salami.
The Daniele salami Salmonella recall came less than 24 hours after the CDC announced the outbreak. According to the latest tally, 187 people in 39 states have been infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Montevideo. Of 133 victims who provided information, 37 were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
More testing is in the works to look for possible confirmation of the outbreak strain of Salmonella in ingredients at Daniele and in other food products. Private laboratory tests found Salmonella in a retail sample of a Daniele salami product , but the Salmonella didn't match the outbreak strains.
Some scientists believe pepper is the source of the outbreak and there has been a media report saying that Daniele is starting to irradiate the pepper it receives before adding it to meat products. For now, salami product at Daniele of Pascoag, Rhode Island, is on hold.
If you or a loved one has been injured in this outbreak, contact a Salmonella lawyer at Pritzker Olsen by calling 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or completing our contact form on the side of this Web page. We are a national food safety law firm and one of the few in the country practicing extensively in the area of foodborne illness litigation.
Pritzker Olsen has collected millions for victims of food poisoning and we are involved as an advocate for victims in practically every major outbreak.
