A woman has died of botulism poisoning after eating guacamole at a food festival in Italy. Roberta Pitzalis, 38, ate the avocado-based dip from a stand at the Fiesta Latina event in Cagliari, Sardinia, on Friday (August 8).
Reports say eight others who were at the festival were hospitalised with the rare but life-threatening condition. This included a boy, 11, who was in intensive care after eating a taco with guacamole in it.
News of Ms Pitzalis’s death comes after two people died after eating broccoli and sausage sandwiches in a separate botulism outbreak in Italy.
Artist Luigi Di Sarno, 52, and Tamara D’Acunto, 45, died after eating a sandwich from a food truck in Calabria.
More than 17 people were hospitalised. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has reportedly seized broccoli from the outlet.
Botulism is caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. The toxins attack the nervous system and cause paralysis.
The majority of people make a full recovery with treatment, but the paralysis can spread to muscles which control breathing if the condition is not treated quickly. This is fatal in about five to 10% of cases, according to the NHS.
Italian media reported that public health officials raided the headquarters of the festival in Sardinia on Monday.
They discovered rice, tomato paste and flour totalling some £25,000, which wasn’t stored properly, according to the Metro.
The same publication said officials failed to find any more contaminated guacamole despite seizing quantities of the dip from the festival.
Italian media named Argentinian businessman Gustavo Vincenti as a suspect in Ms Pitzalis’s death. He owned the stall from where the guacamole was alleged to have been served.
His lawyer Maurizio Mereu said Mr Vincenti felt “deeply affected by what happened, regardless of any allegations of guilt that have yet to be proven”.
Mr Mereu added: “We maintain that all the products used were sealed, came from a controlled supply chain and [were] purchased through large-scale retailers. They were stored correctly. There was no way to predict what happened.”
1. Exercise caution with oils, herbs and low-acid foods.
Botulism can flourish in low-acid conditions such as homemade oils infused with herbs or vegetables – particularly when kept at room temperature.
Always refrigerate such items and consume them within four days. 2.
Dismiss dubious canned goods.
Avoid consuming food from bulging, dented, or leaking cans and jars. Even items without apparent spoilage can harbour invisible, lethal toxins.
3. Employ correct pressure canning methods.
If you’re making your own preserves, particularly with low-acid foods such as vegetables and meats, always utilise a pressure canner, not a boiling-water bath. Pressure canning achieves temperatures high enough to annihilate botulinum spores.
4. Acidify when canning tomatoes.
Tomatoes vary in acidity and may not always be safe. To ensure they’re preserved safely, add bottled lemon juice or citric acid so the pH remains at or below 4.6.
5. Thoroughly heat everything.
Botulinum toxin can be eradicated by heating food to above 85C for at least five minutes. This is especially crucial for home-canned low-acid foods.
6. Promptly refrigerate and store safely.
Never leave perishable food at room temperature for more than two hours, or one hour in hot conditions (above 32C). Keep refrigeration at 4C or below.
Botulinum toxin cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted, and even the smallest amount can be deadly. If you have any doubt about the safety of a food item, don’t sample it – discard it immediately.
