According to the Oregon State Department of Public Health, Rhode Island-based Daniele brand salami has been identified as the source of the Salmonella Montevideo outbreak that has sickened 184 people in 38 states, including 8 from Oregon and 14 from Washington. The numbers continue to grow as reports from state health departments continue to track down related cases. The earliest recognized cases began in July 2009.
The Oregon DPH said in a statement today that the recalled products are widely sold at groceries, warehouse stores and online. Vendors include Costco, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Amazon and other locations. Most products are sold under the Daniele brand name, but several items with the Boar’s Head, Black Bear, or Dietz & Watson labels are also included. All of the recalled products carry a small round USDA mark that says “EST. 54″ or “EST. 9992.” Safeway, Albertson’s, and Fred Meyer are not part of the recall.
As a result, Daniele, Inc., the Rhode Island manufacturer of the tainted products, has issued a nationwide recall recall of approximately 1,240,000 pounds of pepper-coated salami products. State and federal public health agencies are working with the Rhode Island-based company to determine if the pepper coating on the salami, versus the salami itself, is the source of the contamination.
Oregon Salmonella Sleuth Explains How Salami Was Pinpointed as the Source
Dr. William Keene, a senior epidemiologist from the Oregon State Department of Health, has been intimately involved in finding the source of the outbreak. He described this a “a funny outbreak” because of product involved - salami - which has a long shelf life. He pointed out that several states have been working together since July 2009 to identifiy a source for these.
“This has been a very long and frustrating investigation,” Keen said. “We had gone down a lot of dead ends until the puzzle pieces finally started to fit together about this outbreak.”
Public health investigators in Washington state found that many of the state’s 14 residents who got sick shopped at the warehouse retailer Costco, Keene said. With permission from the patients, Keene said, investigators compared their shopping records.
“There was one product that jumped out,” he said. “That gave us the focus on salami.”
So, Keene said, investigators re-interviewed people who were thought to be part of the outbreak, such as members of a hunting party from the South who had been to the Great Plains and responded to new questions with answers such as, “Now that you mention it, we did stop at a Wal-Mart in South Dakota and buy some salami.”
Daniele, Inc. Continues to Deny Responsibility
Daniele spokesman Jason Maloni told the Associated Press “there’s no evidence that points to us” as the source.
Keene said Saturday that the cause of the sickness was difficult to track and some questions remain, such as whether it was the meat or the pepper that was contaminated.
Maloni said 11 people who got sick ate salami from the Daniele Italian Brand Gourmet Pack, but that Rhode Island and federal officials have not linked the company’s products with the outbreak.
“We’re taking the prudent step in the event that further evidence does point to us,” he said of the recall. “It is our responsibility to take this aggressive step.”
Simon & Luke Accepting Salmonella Cases
The salmonella lawyers at Simon & Luke are accepting cases for individuals who tested positive for salmonella after consuming Daniel salami products. We have handled over 2000 salmonella cases in the past 3 years alone, recovering millions of dollars for our clients. We currently represent hundreds of individuals nationwide who were affected by the Austin / Keebler peanut butter cracker salmonella outbreak and the Union International Foods pepper salmonella outbreak.
If you or a loved one have contracted salmonella, please call us toll-free at 1-888-335-4901 or email Ron Simon at ron@simonluke.com - we can help.
