Initial investigations into the batch of contaminated loose spinach confirm that the vegetables from Avezzano contained traces of stramonium, a toxic plant similar to mandrake.
Loose spinach from Abruzzo that passed through the fruit and vegetable markets of Aversa and Volla, in Campania, poisoned 10 people. According to experts, stramonium, another plant similar to mandrake and spinach and equally toxic, could be the cause of the poisonings recorded in recent days. The first person who was poisoned had told the doctors who were treating him that he had eaten spinach in an omelette and showed symptoms similar to those of ingesting mandrake.
But among the 152 crates of vegetables that were seized last week at the Volla Agri-food Center in the province of Naples, no traces of this plant were found. "From the analyses carried out, it emerged that the poisoning was certainly of vegetal origin," explains the director of the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, Gennaro Limone, participating in the hearing of the Campania Region's Agriculture Commission. "It was a batch of contaminated spinach from Avezzano, probably from an open-field crop. Faced with this alarm, there was an important reaction from the institutional supply chain to isolate the batch, reconstruct its distribution chain and prevent further cases," he adds.
Meanwhile, a 500-gram batch of 'Il Gigante' spinach, produced by Spinerb di Colleoni Andrea e C snc, has been recalled due to suspected contamination by Mandragora. Anyone who has purchased a package from production batch 273, as stated on the Ministry of Health website, must avoid consuming it and return it to the store "as a precaution" even "if it has been frozen".
Article published on 12 October 2022 - 20:12
