What was supposed to be a moment of relaxation and conviviality has turned into a nightmare for dozens of families on vacation in Calabria. Over the weekend, about 60 guest tourists of a tourist village in Nicotera Marina, in the province of Vibo Valentia, have accused serious problems after consuming a meal served inside the structure, based on sausages and chips.
Among the intoxicated there are numerous children and many tourists from Naples and Caserta. The most common symptoms were vomiting and diarrhea, while five people, hit more seriously, were hospitalized. At the moment, about thirty guests would still be intoxicated.
The alarm took place immediately after the first cases and the carabinieri of the Antisophistication and Healthcare Unit (NAS) intervened on the spot, which ordered the temporary closure of the restaurant and the seizure of over 300 kilos of food. Food samples were sent to the laboratories to establish with certainty the cause of the intoxication and ascertain any responsibilities.
According to the first findings, the kitchens would have been in adequate hygiene conditions, which suggests that the problem can be related to the foods served. They remain to be clarified if they are an isolated episode or if they return to the botulinum alarm, after the cases recorded in the past few weeks in Diamante.
It should not be forgotten that Wurstel can represent a risk if consumed raw or preserved in a correct way: perhaps you will remember that years ago some lots were contaminated by the Listeria bacterium, which caused serious cases of intoxication.
But returning to the case of Nicotera, to make the story even more disturbing is the fact that the structure had already been seized in the past by the prosecutor because it was managed by the ‘Ndrangheta, and only recently had it been reopened and entrusted to a new management. The guests denounced disastrous conditions, documenting them with photos and videos sent to the deputy of the Verdi-left alliance Francesco Emilio Borrelli: broken doors, insects, water infiltrations during thunderstorms, fallen palms branches and widespread dirt.
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The mayor of Nicotera Giuseppe Marasco immediately kept specifying that the episode does not involve local restaurants:
Our premises respect high food safety standards – he wrote in a Facebook post.
But the damage of the image has been there, such episodes are likely to creek the trust of consumers and tourists.
In these days we continue to talk about food poisoning that seem to be the master in this summer 2025. We have already told about the ten tourists who ended up in the hospital in Formia after having consumed a tuna salad in a lido, while in Sardinia and in Calabria, botulinum outbreaks have occurred related to contaminated products sold in street food kiosks, with a budget unfortunately of four victims.
But that of food poisoning is not only an Italian problem.
Spain: Focola di Salmonella in a hotel
In these days, Spain has also faced a serious case of food poisoning. In a hotel in the tourist resort of La Manga del Mar Menor, in the south of the town, over 100 people were affected by heavy gastrointestinal symptoms after having had lunch in the structure.
The symptoms – vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pains and in some cases fever – were compatible with salmonella, confirmed by the microbiological tests. Two tourists are still hospitalized, although not in serious conditions, while another twenty have been transferred for investigations and then discharged.
The Spanish health authorities have ordered the precautionary closure of the kitchens and the complete disinfestation of the structure, while analysis on food samples are underway to trace the source of the infection.
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Sources: Francesco Emilio Borrelli Instagram / ANSA
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