Zeppole Salmonella Sickens 11 Nursing Home Residents

On Friday, March 25, 20011, the Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH) became aware of a Salmonella outbreak when 11 West Shore Health Center nursing home residents became ill after consuming zeppoles from DeFusco’s Bakery, according to a report by Felice J. Freyer of The Providence Journal. Seven of the nursing home residents were so ill that they required hospitalization.

HEALTH inspectors went to DeFusco’s Bakery where they found that custard for the zeppole pastry was not properly chilled; pastry shells were stored in cardboard boxes where raw eggs had been and a food-safety manager was not on the premises as required. Annemarie Beardsworth, Health Department spokeswoman, reported that DeFusco’s Johnston facility had passed routine inspections in April and December of 2010.

It is disconcerting that a facility that knows food safety guidelines could be so careless as to:

store baked pastries in boxes that had contained raw eggs

fail to properly chill buckets of custard — an egg product

This negligence was at the expense of a group of people that were vulnerable and already dealing with health issues. (The West Shore Health Center offers nursing care, subacute care, rehabilitation and Alzheimer’s care.) Their struggle to maintain their quality of life or to recuperate from a serious illness or surgery just got tougher — physically, emotionally and financially.

What was intended as a treat, turned out to be a trick of the worst kind. Liable parties should be held accountable for medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages and other harms.

Pritzker Olsen Salmonella attorneys are investigating this outbreak of Salmonella associated with eating zeppoles from DeFusco’s Bakery in Rhode Island. Attorney David Szerlag is part of the Salmonella litigation team at Pritzker Olsen and is a member of the Rhode Island Bar Association. He is available for a free consultation. Call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our online contact form.

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