Nearly a week after a woman in Finland died from botulism poisoning — the result of eating tainted Italian olives — a U.S. distributor is warning consumers not to eat Bio Gaudiano Organic Olives Stuffed with Almonds because they may be contaminated with the Clostridium botulinum toxin.
The distributor, Pure Italian of Watertown, MA, together with the manufacturer and packer, Bio Gaudiano of Italy, are recalling all sizes of glass jars and cans and all lots of the Bio Gaudiano almond-stuffed olives, which were sold at the SoWa farmers market in South End, MA, and also distributed to other Massachusetts retailers.
The recalled organic olives sold at the SoWa farmers market were in 314 ml glass jar with a white label that reads Bio Gaudiano and a green twist-off metal lid with the lot number E0511X and an expiration date of 05/2013.
Other sizes and lots of the organic Italian olives went to unnamed Massachusetts retailers, according to the recall notice. The notice did not include label information on those products.
In Finland, two adults from the same household were hospitalized, and one died after eating Bio Gaudiano almond-stuffed olives. Both were diagnosed with botulism and their jar of stuffed organic olives was subsequently discovered to contain the toxin, the National Institute for Health and Welfare reported.
The Bio Gaudiano organic almond-stuffed olives implicated in the Finland botulism cases had the lot H2510X and an expiration date of 09/2012.
On Oct. 21, the Rapid Alert System for Foods and Feeds first posted a notice about the botulism poisoning in Finland and said the suspect olives had also been distributed to Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration did not publish a recall notice until Wednesday, Nov. 2.
In its news release, Bio Gaudiano said the U.S. recall was “a preventative and precautionary measure in the interests of consumers.”
The company said consumers who purchased Bio Gaudiano Stuffed Olives with Almonds of any size or lot should not consume them, but may return them to the place of purchase for a full refund or discard them.
For more information contact Pure Italian LLC at 617-372-1659 or 617-331-2062 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Botulism is a potentially fatal form of food poisoning, that can cause the following symptoms: general weakness, dizziness, double-vision and trouble with speaking or swallowing. Difficulty in breathing, weakness of other muscles, abdominal distension and constipation may also be common symptoms. People experiencing these problems should seek immediate medical attention.