Woman becomes latest victim to die from 'toxic broccoli' sandwich as 17 others are hospitalized

A 45-year-old woman lost her life after eating a sandwich purchased from a food truck in Calabria last week.

According to Italian news agency ANSA, Tamara D'Acunto ate a sandwich reportedly containing sausage and turnip greens from a food truck before passing away on Wednesday (August 6).

She is the second person to have reportedly died after consuming an allegedly contaminated sandwich, with 52-year-old Luigi Di Sarno also dying after eating a sausage and broccoli sandwich in Naples.

Following Di Sarno's death, the food truck, which served the sandwiches, was seized, with the product reported by ITV News to have been broccoli preserved in oil.

LBC reports that at least 17 people have also been hospitalized following signs of botulism, including two 17-year-olds and two women in their 40s.

Five of those in the hospital are reported to be in the ICU, PEOPLE says.

Tamara is the second person to die after eating an allegedly contaminated sandwich (Tamara D’Acunto/Facebook)

According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), botulism is caused by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, which can attack the body's nervous system, resulting in breathing difficulties, paralyzed muscles, and even death in some cases.

The Paola Public Prosecutor's Office is now investigating a botulism outbreak inside the food truck, with several products found to have contained botulism.

A prosecutor involved in the case said they'd assumed that the owner of the vehicle in question had only used 'one kitchen tool to handle the food', adding: "Otherwise it's inexplicable."

Luigi Di Sarno was the first person to pass away (Facebook)

However, Lawyer Francesco Liserre, the street vendor's representative, insisted that the products on sale at the food truck were 'stored in the refrigerator and opened when needed' and that his client is 'devastated' by what's happened.

"He is convinced that the contamination was already in the products," added Liserre.

Ten people are currently under investigation, including the street vendors, several medical professionals who'd reportedly treated the two victims before their deaths, and managers of the companies responsible for manufacturing the contaminated product.

Maria Rosaria Campitiello, Head of the Department of Prevention, Research, and Health Emergencies, said in a previous statement that paitents were being given 'lifesaving antidote treatments', adding: "It should be noted that the foods at risk of botulinum toxin are homemade preserves prepared vacuum-packed, in oil, or in water, and, rarely, industrial products.

"This is why it is important to follow the rules for the correct and safe preparation and storage of food."

The product was reported to have been broccoli (Getty Stock)

And today (August 13), Calabria's Region's Department of Health and Welfare also issued a statement, which read: "The emergency procedure established in these cases has been activated, which requires immediate notification to the Poison Control Centre in Pavia, the only national centre designated for the management of botulism.

"No region or hospital in the country is authorized to store the antivenom in their own facilities.

"This serum, however, is exclusively available to the Ministry of Health, which holds it in designated secure locations and distributes it only through the Lombardy Poison Control Centre.

"The first two vials, used for the first patients, were sent directly from the Military Pharmacy in Taranto. However, as the number of cases increased, additional supplies became necessary.

"Yesterday, the Calabria Region, through Azienda Zero, provided a 118 aircraft that flew to the San Camillo Hospital in Rome, where the ministry had centralized additional vials of the antivenom to facilitate distribution."