International outbreak of Salmonella Eastbourne infection traced to contaminated chocolate

Between Dec. 4, 1973, and Feb. 15, 1974, 80 cases of infection due to Salmonella eastbourne, previously a rare isolated serotype in the United States, were reported from twenty-three States. An additional 39 cases were reported from seven Provinces in Canada during a similar period. A telephone case-control study implicated Christmas-wrapped chocolate balls manufactured by a Canadian company as the vehicle of transmission. S. eastbourne was subsequently isolated from several samples of leftover chocolate balls obtained from homes where cases occurred. Investigation of the factory revealed that the contaminated Christmas and Easter chocolates, and a few chocolate items for year-round sale, had been produced between May and October, 1973. Bacteriological testing of samples taken at the plant implicated cocoa beans as the probable source of the salmonella organisms which, in the low-moisture chocolate, were able to survive heating during production. This outbreak and the finding of salmonella of other serotypes in chocolates produced by another manufacturer suggest that chocolate-related salmonellosis may be a significant public-health problem.