title: Two unlinked cases of foodborne botulism in Italy at the beginning of 2010.
abstract: The study provides data on two cases of foodborne botulism caused by consumption of commercial vegetable products: artichoke preserve and cream of vegetable soup. By mouse bioassay, Clostridium botulinum toxin in both the suspected food samples was detected and identified as type B toxin. The detection of C. botulinum toxin in the artichoke preserve indicates an inadequate food production technology while the presence of C. botulinum toxin in the vegetable soup appeared to be related to wrong behavior on the part of the consumer and to faulty food preservation. The study confirms that an early identification and reporting of suspected botulism cases is vital in the prevention of accidental widespread outbreaks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Microbiology, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia. paolo.daminelli@izsler.it
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Daminelli
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: De Nadai
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bozzo
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Finazzi
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Oliverio
authors.forename: Marina N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Losio
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bertasi
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boni
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001906:Botulism; D003014:Clostridium botulinum; D007558:Italy