Two people have died in a Danish outbreak of Salmonella that has infected at least 19 people. The two fatal cases were elderly, and suffered from other serious illnesses.

All 19 victims were infected with a single strain of Salmonella, according to Luise Müller, an epidemiologist at the Statens Serum Institut.  Several of the outbreak victims reported having eaten a commercial frozen, microwaveable dinner consisting of meatloaf, potatoes and sauce.

forelorenhare_406x250The frozen dinner was manufactured by Tulip Food Company for Coop Danmark A/S and sold under the Normeat A/S brand in Kvickly, Brugsen, SuperBrugsen, Dagli’ Brugsen, Fakta, and Fakta Q supermarkets and convenience stores, and on-line at coop.dk/mad.

Coop has recalled the implicated product, described as COOP Forloren Hare, net wt. 350g; manufactured 04/11/2016; best by 01/08/2017; EAN 7340011419334.

The investigation into the outbreak is ongoing, according to Nikolas Hove of the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, and the recall may be extended to include additional production dates.

The outbreak investigation, begun about a week ago, is a joint effort of the Danish Statens Serum Institut, the Natiional Food Institute and the National Food Authority.