Did Citterio September Facebook giveaway winners receive salami sticks now linked to a multistate outbreak? Here’s why there may be a concern.
Citterio USA of Freeland, PA announces a giveaway about once a month on Facebook. Salami sticks are one of the items in the photo for the September 7 post announcing last month’s giveaway. The entry deadline was September 15, 2021, with winners announced the next day. Based on the comment section, it looks like prizes were mailed out at the end of the month.
On September 30, one winner posted a photo of the box she’d won. It contains a variety of products including salami sticks, which Citterio calls salame sticks. See below.
The problem is that a few weeks after the giveaway, Citterio Premium Italian-style Salame Sticks, which are sold at Trader Joe’s stores, were identified as the source of a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened 20 people in eight states. But Citterio hasn’t issued a recall and there is no information about the outbreak posted on the company’s website or Facebook page.
“How are the giveaway winners to know that their ‘prizes’ pose a major health risk?” said Food Poisoning Bulletin Publisher Fred Pritzker, a noted food safety attorney. “Three people have been hospitalized.”
Trader Joe’s hasn’t issued a recall either, although the company has stopped selling the product at its stores.
Salami Stick Salmonella Outbreak
This outbreak was first announced by the Minnesota Department of Health on October 22. In Minnesota, three people who purchased Citterio salami sticks at different Trader Joe’s stores developed Salmonella infections after eating them. One person was hospitalized.
On October 23, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that Minnesota was one of eight states reporting illnesses in this outbreak. The others are California, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia.
Symptoms of a Salmonella infection usually develop six to 72 hours after eating contaminated food. The 20 people sickened in this outbreak, who range in age from 2 to 75 years old, told health officials that their symptoms began on dates ranging from September 18, 2021, to October 3, 2021. All of them reported eating salami sticks before they became ill.
Consumers who have purchased these products should not eat them. Health officials are working with Citterio to determine if additional products also may be contaminated.
If you developed a Salmonella infection after eating Citterio Salame Sticks, please contact our experienced Salmonella attorneys for help. You can reach us by calling 1-888-377-8900, or sending a text to 612-261-0856.
