The Ministry of Health raises the alarm for possible risk of salmonella in a salami sold in Italian supermarkets. After some checks, in fact, the possible food poisoning emerged which led the ministry, as well as the manufacturing company, to publish a recall notice to not consume the product. These are different formats of Mantua salami from Salumificio Cattini Srl of Mantua.
Salami at risk of salmonella, the batches
The salami affected by the recall issued on the Ministry of Health website is Salumificio Cattini srllocated in viale Zonta 43/A in Suzzara, in the province of Mantua. Customers who have purchased the salami are asked to pay attention to all those that show the IT 1254 LOA establishment identification mark, the one linked precisely to the Mantua company.
There are six recall notes for the following products:
- Mantua salami/Mantua salami with garlic vacuum-packed 400/500 g, batches produced from 07/03/24 to 06/06/24 with an expiry date of 120 days from the production date;
- Mantua salami/Mantua salami with garlic in different weights, batches produced from 03/07/24 to 04/19/24;
- 1.2 kg Mantuan salami, production batch 06/06/24;
- 1.2 kg Mantua salami, production batch 03/05/24;
- 1 kg Mantuan salami, production batch 03/05/24;
- 1kg Mantuan salami, production batch 10/05/24.
In the various notes the same reason for the recall can be read, that is, “precautionary withdrawal for microbiological danger related to food poisoning by salmonella”. Everyone is advised not to consume the product and to return it to the point of sale where it was purchased.
What is Salmonella: Risks and Symptoms
We have always heard a lot about it, but what is salmonella? It is a genus of bacteria responsible for one of the most common gastrointestinal infections in industrialized countries: salmonellosis. For humans, the risk of contracting this disease is associated mainly with the ingestion of contaminated foods during storage and handling.
Salmonella bacteria grow well both at room temperature and inside the human body, but they do not tolerate high temperatures and acidic pH (values below 5.5). Cooking food drastically reduces the risk of infection, since the bacteria are destroyed by heat.
Salmonellosis manifests itself with a set of disorders that can have different intensity and seriousness depending on the case. Typically it can therefore cause:
- nausea;
- crampy abdominal pain;
- diarrhea with liquid stools, mixed with mucus and, sometimes, small amounts of blood.
- green stool;
- fever (38-39°C);
- vomit;
- articolar pains;
- heachache.
Symptoms of salmonellosis usually appear 12 to 72 hours after eating contaminated food or being exposed to the bacteria. This short period is called the incubation period, during which Salmonella reproduces in the intestine. The severity of symptoms varies, but salmonellosis usually resolves within 4 to 7 days.
The Ministry’s reports
Food safety is an aspect that is given priority by the Ministry of Health, which monitors the quality of products sold in supermarkets as best it can and reports withdrawals or recalls through its website. Specifically, this mechanism is possible thanks to food sector operators (OSA) who are required to inform their customers of non-compliance found in foods they sell and to withdraw a product from the market if it is not in line.
In addition to the recall, if the product has already been sold to the consumer, the OSA must provide for the recall, that is, it must inform consumers about the risky products, also by means of signs to be placed in the points of sale, and publish the recall in the specific area of the Ministry of Health portal.
