Rhode Island bakery at center of deadly Salmonella outbreak closed by state authorities

The bakery at the center of a deadly Salmonella outbreak in Rhode Island has been ordered shut by state officials until it can remedy its food safety issues.

According to an AP report, DeFusco’s Bakery has been ordered closed by Rhode Island’s Dept. of Health. Investigators have found numerous violations that contributed to a Salmonella outbreak linked to the company’s Zeppole pastry.

The order stands for DeFusco’s bakery in Johnston, R.I., and a retail location in Cranston. The company voluntarily closed these locations a few weeks ago, but the state order will only be lifted when DeFusco’s meets safety standards for storing food.

Among the violations at DeFusco’s were the improper storage of pastry cream, and storing finished pastry in used egg containers. The egg containers were gathered by investigators a few weeks ago at the height of the outbreak and were later determined to be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria.

At least 79 people have fallen ill after eating a pastry from DeFusco’s. Two people have died after contracting Salmonella poisoning from a DeFusco’s product and one person remains in the hospital because of the illness.

AP reports a phone number for the bakery has been disconnected when it attempted to contact the company for comment.

Early symptoms of Salmonella poisoning include nausea, fever, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Salmonella poisoning can lead to hospitalization and death if left untreated.

A small percentage of the actual victims of a Salmonella outbreak report their case to health officials and then tends to lessen the number of victims in an outbreak.