The Rhode Island Department of Health has reportedly added four new health inspectors to its ranks in the year that has followed a major outbreak of Salmonella that resulted in two deaths, at least 30 hospitalizations and upwards of 79 confirmed illnesses.
The outbreak was linked to cream-filled pastries from DeFusco’s Bakery, which was cited for multiple food safety violations, including storing ready-to-eat pastry shells in egg cartons and unsafe storage temps. Inspectors found Salmonella in the egg crates.
A new report says the state’s Food Inspection Department now has 11 inspectors to cover more than 2,000 food establishments.
As previously reported, DeFusco’s closed for good after the state health department recalled all bakery items from its Johnston and Cranston bakeries and shut them down. The investigation found the most likely cause of illness was consumption of zeppole pastries that came in contact with raw eggs.
Part of the struggle in stopping the outbreak was to identify which bakeries around Rhode Island were selling the zeppoles. Officials discovered that one of the distributors had sold the pastries to senior care facilities in West Warwick and Riverside, obviously unaware of the contamination.
