A 45-year-old woman has become the second person to die in Italy after eating a toxic vegetable and sausage sandwich, as more than a dozen others remain in hospital.
Tamara D’Acunto died shortly after consuming a panini made with turnip greens from a food truck near Diamante, Calabria. Her death follows that of 52-year-old Luigi Di Sarno, who passed away on Thursday, August 7, after eating the same type of sandwich from the same vendor.
Several of Di Sarno’s relatives, including two 17-year-olds and two women in their 40s, also fell ill and were taken to Annunziata Hospital in Cosenza. In total, 17 people have been hospitalised with symptoms of botulism, which appeared within 24–48 hours of eating the sandwiches.
Authorities have launched an investigation, placing nine people — including the food truck owner and employees of the company that supplied the sandwiches — under scrutiny. The food truck and jars of broccoli in oil linked to the outbreak have been seized.
Botulism, caused by toxins from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, is a rare but potentially deadly illness that attacks the nervous system, leading to breathing difficulties, paralysis, and, in about 10% of cases, death. It is most often contracted through improperly processed food.
According to Calabria’s Department of Health and Welfare, Italy’s antitoxin serum is held exclusively by the Ministry of Health and distributed through the Lombardy Poison Control Centre. No other region or hospital is authorised to store it.
This incident follows another suspected botulism outbreak just days earlier in Sardinia, where eight people were hospitalised after eating guacamole from a Mexican food stand at the Fiesta Latina festival. In response, health authorities have flown in vials of antitoxin serum to treat affected patients.
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