USDA has issued a Class 1 Recall for a high health risk after finding Salmonella montevidoe in unopened salami products. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has announced a second recall release to expand the January 23 recall to include an additional 115,000 pounds of salami products.

Daniele International Inc. an establishment with operations in Pascoag and Mapleville, R.I., is expanding its January 23 recall to include approximately 115,000 pounds of salami products that may be contaminated with Salmonella. On 23rd January 1,263,754 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) varieties of Italian sausage products were recalled and on February 4, 2010 two additional products recalled adding approximately 23,754 pounds of product. The recall is being expanded as a result of a confirmed finding of Salmonella in an unopened salami product tested by FSIS, and by ingredient testing performed by the company. The product was sampled during the course of an ongoing investigation of a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella serotype montevideo illnesses. These products were not subject to recall previously because they are not sausage products that contain black pepper on the external surface, or packaged with such products. Based on preliminary testing results, the company believes that crushed red pepper may be a possible source of Salmonella contamination.

Further testing is ongoing at a state health partner laboratory, and may determine if the product contained the Salmonella montevideo strain associated with the multi-state outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), FSIS, state health and agriculture departments, and Daniele International are cooperating in this investigation. The CDC has posted information about the multi-state outbreak on its website (http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella) but the investigation is ongoing and the root cause of the contamination has not yet been determined. FSIS is continuing to work with the CDC, FDA, affected state public health partners, and the company on the investigation and will update the public on the progress of this investigation as information becomes available.

Update 25th February:
Wholesome Spice Recalls 25 Lb. Boxes Of Crushed Red Pepper Because Of Possible Health Risk

Wholesome Spice of Brooklyn, NY is recalling all lots of 25 lb boxes of Crushed Red Pepper sold between 4/6/09 and 1/20/10, because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The 25 lb boxes of Crushed Red pepper were distributed in the Northeastern U.S.. The product was not sold on the retail level to consumers. The Crushed Red Pepper product is packaged in a clear plastic bag which is placed inside of a cardboard box with an adhesive white label with a blue border and blue and black lettering. The brand name on the product labels is WHOLESOME SPICES. The product name is listed as CRUSHED RED PEPPER.
It cannot be determined at this time if this product has been related to any illnesses to date. The firm was informed that samples of its product have tested positive for Salmonella. The firm is currently working with the FDA to determine how the contamination occurred.

Update: FDA considers spice supply safety
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has met with members of the spice industry to consider ways to make supply safer, following salmonella contamination of salami products linked to black and red pepper.
The spice industry could treat its products with one of three possible kill steps for salmonella: irradiation, steam heating or fumigation with ethylene oxide, Jeff Farrar, FDA associate commissioner for food safety reported in the Washington Post. “The bottom line is, if there are readily available validated processes out there to reduce the risk of contamination, our expectation is that they will use them”. The FDA does not currently have the authority to order the spice industry to treat its products. The recall of salami due to salmonella contamination at Daniele International has been linked to 249 illnesses across 44 states. No deaths have been associated with the recall.