A tragic incident occurred last week in Calabria, as a 45-year-old woman died after consuming a sandwich bought from a local food truck.
ANSA, an Italian news agency, reported that Tamara D’Acunto died on Wednesday, August 6, after eating a sandwich that included sausage and turnip greens from the food truck.
This incident marks the second reported death linked to a possibly contaminated sandwich. Luigi Di Sarno, aged 52, also died after consuming a sausage and broccoli sandwich in Naples.
In response to Di Sarno’s death, authorities seized the food truck that sold the sandwiches. ITV News mentioned that the sandwiches contained broccoli preserved in oil.
LBC has reported that at least 17 individuals have been admitted to hospitals with signs of botulism. Among them are two teenagers aged 17 and two women in their 40s.
According to PEOPLE, five of these hospitalized individuals are currently in the intensive care unit (ICU).
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains that botulism is an illness caused by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. This bacterium can affect the nervous system, potentially leading to breathing issues, muscle paralysis, and sometimes death.
The Paola Public Prosecutor’s Office is currently investigating a botulism outbreak tied to the food truck. It was discovered that several products contained the botulinum toxin.
A prosecutor on the case mentioned an assumption that the food truck owner may have used just ‘one kitchen tool to handle the food,’ commenting, “Otherwise it’s inexplicable.”
However, Francesco Liserre, the lawyer representing the street vendor, argued that the products sold were ‘stored in the refrigerator and opened when needed.’ He emphasized that his client is ‘devastated’ by the incident.
Liserre added, “He is convinced that the contamination was already in the products.”
Currently, ten individuals are under investigation. This includes the street vendors, medical professionals who treated the victims, and managers of companies that produced the contaminated products.
Maria Rosaria Campitiello, Head of the Department of Prevention, Research, and Health Emergencies, previously stated that patients were receiving ‘lifesaving antidote treatments.’ She highlighted, “It should be noted that the foods at risk of botulinum toxin are homemade preserves prepared vacuum-packed, in oil, or in water, and, rarely, industrial products.
“This is why it is important to follow the rules for the correct and safe preparation and storage of food.”
On August 13, the Department of Health and Welfare in Calabria released a statement. It noted, “The emergency procedure established in these cases has been activated, which requires immediate notification to the Poison Control Centre in Pavia, the only national centre designated for the management of botulism.
“No region or hospital in the country is authorized to store the antivenom in their own facilities.
“This serum, however, is exclusively available to the Ministry of Health, which holds it in designated secure locations and distributes it only through the Lombardy Poison Control Centre.
“The first two vials, used for the first patients, were sent directly from the Military Pharmacy in Taranto. However, as the number of cases increased, additional supplies became necessary.
“Yesterday, the Calabria Region, through Azienda Zero, provided a 118 aircraft that flew to the San Camillo Hospital in Rome, where the ministry had centralized additional vials of the antivenom to facilitate distribution.”