Italy: Salmonella in Sausage Possibly Due to Improper Fermentation

Recall of Salumificio Val d'Ongina of Monticelli Sausage by the Local Health Service of Piacenza. All lots on the market may be contaminated with salmonella, and the manufacturer has withdrawn the sausage from all stores shelves.The supermarkets should have displayed a sign to warn customers of the recall. .

The lot number ist H05-28  The analysis conducted by the AUSL have verified the presence of salmonella in batches packaged in May, June and July.So earlier batches should not be consume.

In the past sausage has been a major cause of salmonellosis.In the cafeterias of schools of Piacenza in 2010 there were 30 cases of salmonellosis caused by salami. In the Easter of 2004 in the Lazio a type of sausage called "The Reef" caused 63 cases of salmonellosis

The recall was triggered by the increase of reported salmonellosis cases in the province of Piacenza (100 in 2012 and 154 in the first nine months of 2013). This year, in 61 cases it was possible to ascertain how the same cause salmonella highlighted in testing done on corpses Val d'Ongina. Tests have identified with certainty the cause of the infection in salami Salumificio Val d'Ongina.  The reasons for this contamination is probably linked to a problem during fermentation.

The pork is often contaminated with salmonella, and in spite of the controls is to be expected that some batch arrivals in the sausage. If theSausaget is cooked to the proper temperature it will kill the salmonella.Other times they are the spices added to the sausage that may be contaminated. To eliminate the salmonella lactic acid bacteria are used in the dough that develop during fermentation and aging. That make life impossible for salmonella. At the end of fermentation acidity levels and humidity the salmonella are damaged so they are unable to reproduce or they die.

However, if the fermentation is not well controlled, or is too short, Salmonella can survive and sicken people. To avoid problems often have to do checks on the farm and carefully assess the production process. Of course the incident is rare but if the production process is not able to kill the salmonella, sooner or later the people will get sick..