Problem with pepper? More salami recalled in nationwide salmonella outbreak

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The salami recall continues to stretch on and on: Daniele International Inc. has expanded its recall of meat products to include an additional 115,000 pounds of pepper-coated salami and sausage goods caught up in a multistate salmonella outbreak.

The Pascoag, R.I., meat company recalled 1.24 million pounds of salami last month after public health investigators spent months tracking down cases of people who got ill and comparing their grocery store lists. So far, at least 230 people in 44 states have gotten sick since July, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Thirty of the people who became ill are from California.

This most recent recall comes after company officials and the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service tested sealed salami packages and found salmonella. Company officials have said they’ve narrowed down the contamination problem to the red and black pepper they’ve used on some of their products.

“The USDA has looked at our plants and our meats, and there’s no issue with our products themselves. It is an issue with an ingredient we bought from an outside supplier,” said Jason Maloni, spokesman for Daniele International.

These are the products that are part of the expanded recall:

• 8-ounce packages of Daniele Hot Salame Panino with Fresh Mozzarella.
• 8-ounce packages of Boar’s Head Salame Panino, Salame Rolled in Mozzarella Cheese.
• 8-ounce and other weighted packages of Daniele Italian Style Salame Panino, Hot Salame Rolled in Mozzarella Cheese.
• 8-ounce packages of Dietz & Watson Artisan Collection Hot Salame Panino, Hot Salame Rolled in Mozzarella Cheese.
• 8-ounce packages of Daniele Salame Panino with Fresh Mozzarella and Basil.
• 1-pound, 8-ounce variety packages of Daniele Capocollo Panino with Fresh Mozzarella and Basil; President’s Prosciutto Panino with Fresh Mozzarella and Basil; Hot Salame Panino with Fresh Mozzarella.

The products were distributed nationwide. Each of the recalled items has a label with the phrase “EST 459” found inside the USDA’s inspection mark. They also have a sell-by date from Feb. 3 to May 26, 2010.

-- P.J. Huffstutter