The Daniele International’s salami products recall for Salmonella has—yet again—been expanded; this time, to include an additional 115,000 pounds of salami/salame products, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). As with the prior two, the FSIS classified the recall as Class I, which means that this is a health hazard situation in which there is a reasonable probability that use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.
Daniele International Inc., an establishment with operations in Pascoag and Mapleville, Rhode Island, expanded its recall over concerns that additional products could be contaminated with the dangerous, and sometimes deadly, Salmonella pathogen. A confirmed finding of Salmonella was recently discovered in an unopened salami product tested by FSIS, and by ingredient testing performed by the company. The product was sampled during the course of an ongoing investigation of a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella serotype Montevideo illnesses.
These products were not subject to recall previously because they are not sausage products containing black pepper on the external surface, or packaged with such products. Based on preliminary testing results, the company believes that, in this specific case, crushed red pepper may be a possible source of contamination.
Further testing is ongoing at a state health partner laboratory, and may determine if the product contained the Salmonella Montevideo strain linked to the multi-state outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), FSIS, state health and agriculture departments, and Daniele International are collaborating on this probe. The CDC posted information about the outbreak on its website at http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella; however, the investigation is ongoing and the root cause of the contamination has not yet been determined.
We recently wrote that the Salmonella outbreak linked to Daniele sausage products had spread to 44 states and the District of Columbia, and had sickened 225, according to the Washington Post. On January 10, Daniele International recalled 1.2 million pounds of ready-to-eat salami; that recall was expanded to include another 23,754 pounds of salami products on February 4, said the Post.
Salmonella infections can be life threatening, especially to those with weak immune systems, such as infants, the elderly, and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy. The most common manifestations of Salmonellosis—the food borne illness caused by contamination
Salmonella—are diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever within eight to 72 hours. Additional symptoms include chills, headache, nausea, and vomiting for up to seven days. Salmonellosis can lead to arterial infections (infected aneurysms), endocarditis, and arthritis. Some bacteria are resistant to antibiotics.
We recently reported that, according to the SunTimes, a Chicago man filed a lawsuit against Daniele International and Mincing Overseas Trading Company claiming he was sick for “almost a month” after coming in contact with Salmonella-tainted pepper used in a salami product. Another family filed a lawsuit against Daniele International last month claiming a three-month-old boy fell ill after eating its pepper-coated salami, said the SunTimes.
