Italy orders urgent recall after deadly botulism outbreak linked to broccoli

An urgent food recall was undertaken in Italy after a suspected botulism outbreak left one man dead and nine others hospitalized.

Artist and musician Luigi Di Sarno, 52, collapsed after eating a broccoli and sausage sandwich purchased from a food truck along the Diamante seafront in Cosenza province. He could not be revived. Among those taken to the intensive care unit at Annunziata Hospital are members of Di Sarno’s family, with two patients reportedly in critical condition. Victims include two teenagers.

Authorities have linked the incident to toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum, the bacteria that causes botulism. Calabria’s Department of Health and Welfare confirmed that emergency protocols were activated, including immediate coordination with the national Poison Control Center in Pavia, the only facility authorized to manage botulism cases.

Under Italian regulations, no regional or local hospitals store the antitoxin, which is kept exclusively by the Ministry of Health. The first doses for patients were shipped from the Military Pharmacy in Taranto, and as more cases emerged, additional vials were flown from the San Camillo Hospital in Rome via a 118 emergency aircraft.

The incident follows a separate botulism outbreak in Sardinia last month, when eight people reportedly fell ill after consuming contaminated guacamole at a festival.