Second person dies after eating ‘toxic broccoli’ sandwich

More than 17 people have been hospitalised due to the broccoli

Tamara D’Acunto, 45, has died after ending up in intensive care for treatment for botulism in southern Italy.

Last week, Luigi Di Sarno, a 52-year-old musician, died after buying the sandwich in Diamante, Calabria.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office has seized jars of broccoli from the business and the truck where the sandwiches were made after more than 17 people have ended up in hospital.

Broccoli has been recalled across Italy amid the growing outbreak of botulism.

Botulism is caused by the toxins produced via the Clostridium botulinum bacteria. It is a rare disease, with only around 1000 cases per year, and can cause respiratory failure, muscle paralysis, and death.

Calabria Region's Department of Health and Welfare issued a statement after the outbreak.

"The emergency procedure established in these cases has been activated, which requires immediate notification to the Poison Control Center in Pavia, the only national centre designated for the management of botulism.

"No region or hospital in the country is authorised 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 centralised additional vials of the antivenom to facilitate distribution."