Fratelli Beretta USA, Inc.
Outcome
FSIS issued recalls and public health alerts in January–February 2024 after Fratelli Beretta USA's coppa and charcuterie products were linked to a multistate Salmonella outbreak causing 87 illnesses in 30 states; FSIS food safety assessments at two company production facilities identified inadequate salt-curing and drying (underprocessing) of coppa as the likely contamination pathway.
Details
Fratelli Beretta USA, Inc. — Salmonella / Charcuterie Underprocessing Recall (2024)
Outcome: FSIS issued recalls and public health alerts in January–February 2024 after Fratelli Beretta USA's coppa and charcuterie products were linked to a multistate Salmonella outbreak that sickened 87 people across 30 states; FSIS food safety assessments at two production facilities identified inadequate salt-curing and drying (underprocessing) of coppa as the likely mechanism allowing Salmonella to survive in finished product.
Fratelli Beretta USA, Inc. operates FSIS-inspected meat processing establishments in Mount Olive, New Jersey (Est. M47967 or M7543B) producing ready-to-eat Italian-style charcuterie including coppa, prosciutto, salami, and similar cured meat products sold under the Busseto Foods and Fratelli Beretta brand names. Between December 2023 and January 2024, CDC's PulseNet identified a cluster of Salmonella enterica I 4:I:- infections with matching genomic profiles; traceback investigation ultimately confirmed purchases of Fratelli Beretta charcuterie products at 11 different purchase points connecting to the company's production facilities.
On January 3, 2024, Fratelli Beretta recalled approximately 11,097 pounds of Busseto Foods brand ready-to-eat charcuterie products. FSIS issued a public health alert on January 18, 2024, covering additional charcuterie products. As the investigation expanded, FSIS conducted for-cause food safety assessments at the two implicated Fratelli Beretta production facilities, collecting 179 product, food contact, and environmental samples. The assessments identified a potential for inadequate salt-curing and drying of coppa during production — an underprocessing condition that could result in survival of Salmonella species in the finished cured meat product.
As of February 15, 2024, 87 people infected with the outbreak strain from 30 states had been confirmed, with illness onset dates from November 20, 2023 through January 1, 2024. No deaths were confirmed in connection with this outbreak.
Primary Source: Fratelli Beretta USA, Inc. Recalls Busseto Foods Brand Charcuterie Meat Products | FSIS
How Crucible Prevents This
The underprocessing finding — inadequate salt-curing and drying of coppa — indicates a process validation failure: the scheduled process (salt concentration, water activity reduction, time-temperature parameters) was either not validated as adequate to achieve the required Salmonella reduction, or the validated process was not being consistently executed in production. Crucible's DECISIONS log would require documented process validation records to be reviewed and confirmed before each production run, and any deviation from scheduled parameters would be recorded as an open action item requiring sign-off before the lot is released.
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