Rhode Island food safety authorities said last week that they had found salmonella in black pepper from two of Daniele International’s suppliers – Mincing Overseas Spice Company and Wholesome Spice, both of which source black pepper from Vietnam.
Today, representatives from both companies told FoodNavigator-USA.com that the salmonella was found in open containers at Daniele, and therefore could have become contaminated after the pepper left their premises.
However, a statement from the director of the Rhode Island Department of Health (Health) David Gifford, prompted reaction from the Vietnam Pepper Association, a representative organization for Vietnamese producers.
Gifford said in a Health statement: “These recent findings show that black pepper used during the manufacturing process at Daniele was the likely source of this outbreak. This outbreak only underscores the importance of closely monitoring food that is imported from other countries as they may not have the same food safety standards as we do.”
In response to Gifford’s comments, the Vietnam Pepper Association’s chairman Do Ha Nam has denied any allegation that the safety of Vietnamese pepper should be linked to the outbreak.
He was quoted in Thanh Nien News as saying: “There were probably mistakes in the process by food producers.”
The issue is an important one for Vietnamese spice producers; Vietnam exported 135,000 tonnes of pepper last year, with around half of it going to the United States.
But the US distributors linked to the case have not taken responsibility either, as there are no definitive answers at this stage explaining how salmonella ended up in ground pepper.
Counsel to Mincing Overseas Spice Company, who did not wish to be named, said: “It is not clear as yet what ‘open container’ means, and the circumstances surrounding this open container.”
Despite the Rhode Island’s health department’s statement saying its results “strongly suggest black pepper is the source of the Salmonella outbreak associated with Daniele Inc.”, the state department has also acknowledged: “All other tests of employees and the facilities are negative at this time.”
Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration has said that its analysis of black pepper samples – both domestic and imported – have tested negative for salmonella.
“If FDA identifies a public health risk associated with black pepper, or any other product, the Agency will take the appropriate action necessary to protect the public’s health,” the agency said in a statement.
Daniele recalled 1.24m pounds of salami on January 23 and a further 17,235 pounds on January 31 after a salmonella outbreak traced to its products has sickened more than 200 across 42 states and the District of Columbia.