FDA Updates on Salmonella Outbreaks

The Food and Drug Administration issued a statement warning consumers of the possible danger of consuming certain Italian-style sausage product, including salami/salame made by Daniele International Inc., due to the possible salmonella contamination.
 
It has not yet been definitively confirmed that Daniele's sausages are the source of the multi-state salmonella outbreak that has led to at least 213 cases of salmonella poisoning in at least 42 states and the District of Columbia.
 
The FDA says in the statement that one sample from an open bag of black pepper at one facility of Daniele's tested positive for the salmonella strain S. Montevideo, which was indicated in patients who came down with the salmonella illness.
 
The ongoing investigation into the salmonella outbreak source is being carried out by the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and various state health agencies, as well as Daniele International Inc based out of Rhode Island.
 
The FDA says the meat processor has already stopped using the black pepper in stock.  A voluntary recall has been issued earlier for the possible tainted salami/salame sausage products.
 
However, the FDA warns that because the shelf-life for the sausage products is one year and chances are good that the recalled Italian style salami/salame products may still be kept in grocery stores and in food consumers' home refrigerators or freezers.
 
The health agency advised that food consumers should learn to ascertain whether or not the sausages they keep or use are being recalled. If they are, they should be wrapped and disposed of carefully.
 
The recalled sausage products are listed on http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_006_2010_Release/index.asp.
 
Salmonella can pose a serious risk to young children, people with underlying health condition or compromised immunity and elderly people.  Healthy people infected with salmonella may experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.  In severe cases, the bacteria can get into a person's blood stream, causing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

Reporting by David Liu and editing by Rachel Stockton