Italian sausage and black pepper recalled on Salmonella fears

More than 563 tonnes of ready-to-eat (RTE) Italian sausage products have been recalled by US safety authorities over fears of Salmonella contamination.

Daniele International Inc issued the recall of 1,240,000 pounds of the RTE products distributed to both retail and industry sources, confirmed the US Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on 23 January.

The Rhode Island-based company is co-operating with the agency and has also voluntarily recalled all products in circulation associated with black pepper – which it believes is the possible source of the contamination.

The FSIS said it became aware of the problem during the course of an ongoing investigation of a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella serotype Montevideo illnesses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that the outbreak had hit 184 individuals across 38 states since July 2009. One of the company’s products had tested positive for Salmonella which was similar to one purchased by a consumer who later was found to have contracted the Montevideo strain of Salmonella, added the body.

“But currently there is not a direct link,” said the FSIS. “The Salmonella strain in the tested product does not appear to be the Montevideo strain of interest and further testing of the sample is ongoing at a state health partner laboratory.”