US expands probe into charcuterie meats as salmonella cases rise

An employee walks by a meat cooler in the grocery section of a Sam’s Club during a media tour in Bentonville, Arkansas June 5, 2014. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File photo

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned against some more brands of charcuterie meat sold at Costco and Sam’s Club as the agency expands a probe into a multi-state salmonella outbreak.

The CDC, in an updated post on Thursday, asked people to throw away all the packs of Fratelli Beretta’s Antipasto Gran Beretta charcuterie meat bought at Costco and Busseto’s Charcuterie Sampler bought at Walmart’s Sam’s Club.

“Once we were notified of the recall, we worked with the supplier to recall the lot code in question, removed this product from our clubs, and implemented a sales block at our registers,” a Sam’s Club spokesperson said.

The latest CDC warning follows the one on January 5 against eating Busseto brand Charcuterie Sampler from a lot that was recalled in early January.

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Costco, in a letter addressed to members who had purchased Fratelli Beretta meat, said Friday that the brand had issued a voluntary recall of its charcuterie meat due to possible salmonella contamination.

The recall includes all products with a best-by date before June 13, the company said in a letter addressed to Costco members.

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The agency’s investigators were working to determine if any additional products may be contaminated.

The CDC said Thursday that 23 more cases of salmonella have been reported in eight more states in the United States since its last warning. The total case count is now 47 in 22 states, with the most number of infections reported in Ohio.

Most people infected with salmonella experience diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. So far, 10 people have been hospitalized due to the multi-state outbreak, according to the CDC.