The botulinum toxin is a neurotoxin that paralyzes muscles – in fact, it’s what Botox injections are made from. While the botulinum toxin might work great for smoothing wrinkles, it can be fatal when ingested.
An outbreak of botulism in contaminated foods in Italy in recent weeks has led to the deaths of four people, with several others hospitalized. The food sources were broccoli and guacamole, which were served from food trucks in two different Italian cities.
The good news is that botulism food poisoning is rare, but if it occurs, it can be fatal. We’ll explain more about what botulism is and how to prevent food poisoning from botulism next.
Botulism food poisoning
Food poisoning refers to ingesting food or drinks that are contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites, or toxins. Food poisoning is, unfortunately, pretty common – around 48 million people are sickened by food poisoning in the United States each year.
Food poisoning from botulism (botulinum toxin is a neurotoxin) is rare, as most cases of foodborne illness are from Salmonella and Listeria bacteria. However, botulism poisoning can be life-threatening and even fatal in severe cases.
Botulism poisoning most commonly occurs from a type of bacteria called Clostridium botulinum, which produces the botulism toxin. Clostridium botulinum is most commonly found on the surfaces of fruits, vegetables, and seafood.
According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of botulism poisoning can include:
- Trouble swallowing or speaking.
- Dry mouth.
- Facial weakness on both sides of the face.
- Blurred or double vision.
- Drooping eyelids.
- Trouble breathing.
- Nausea, vomiting, and stomach cramps.
- Paralysis.
Outbreak #1: Broccoli sandwiches
Two people have died and several others have been hospitalized in Italy after eating sandwiches with botulism-contaminated broccoli. The food poisoning occurred earlier this month at a music festival in Diamante, where broccoli and sausage sandwiches were served from a food truck.
The first victim was a 52-year-old man who collapsed and passed away after ingesting the botulinum toxin. A couple of days later, a second victim died from botulism food poisoning from the same food truck at the music festival. The victim was a 45-year-old woman who, like the first victim, was a musician.
At least nine other people (some were family members of the deceased) were hospitalized and placed in intensive care, where a botulism antidote was administered.
Outbreak #2: Guacamole
A few weeks before the August botulism outbreak in Italy, the same toxin was responsible for a death and hospitalization. This time, the culprit was guacamole served on tacos in the town of Cagliari in Italy.
A 38-year-old woman died after eating a taco with contaminated guacamole, and an 11-year-old was hospitalized after consuming the same guacamole.
Since these outbreaks, Italian government agencies have been collecting samples of impacted food, and the vendors impacted by the tainted food have been shut down.
Botulism causes
Botulism poisoning is rare – around 110 cases of botulism are reported each year. However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t practice good food safety habits, since these habits can prevent not only botulism poisoning, but also other more common sources of food poisoning as well.
The most common sources of botulism poisoning are improperly canned or preserved homemade foods. Botulism poisoning is more common in low-acid foods, like vegetables and meat. Honey is another common source of botulism, which is why babies under the age of one year shouldn’t eat honey.
Following safe canning practices is essential to prevent the growth of potentially harmful bacteria and toxins that can make others sick. (There is a lot that goes into safe canning practices that we won’t get into in this article, but you can seek resources from several university extension offices, as well as the CDC.)
Botulism prevention
In addition to practicing safe canning techniques, here are some tips to prevent botulism poisoning:
- Refrigerate leftover food promptly, and throw away leftovers after several days.
- Use foods that are stored in oil within 10 days.
- Throw away canned food that is warped, swollen, or misshapen in any way, or that leaks or spurts liquid when opened.
- Buy store-bought canned foods if you’re uncertain of the safety procedures of home-canned goods.
Recent US botulism outbreaks
In the United States, a recent botulism outbreak occurred in 2024 in California. The source of the neurotoxin was home-canned prickly pear cactus (nopales). A total of eight people were sickened, two of whom required mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit.
In February 2025, Tri-Union Seafoods recalled lots of canned tuna with easy-open pull tab lids. These lids were compromised and might not have sealed properly, which could lead to contamination with botulism, according to the US Food and Drug Administration.
Summary
- Outbreaks of botulism food poisoning in Italy have led to three deaths and multiple hospitalizations.
- One outbreak was from contaminated broccoli (leading to two of the three deaths), and others were from contaminated guacamole. Contaminated foods were sold from food trucks.
- Italian government agencies are testing impacted foods and have closed food vendors impacted by the outbreak.
- The best way to prevent botulism poisoning is to follow safe food canning/preservation practices.
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