Italian wife killed by pizza: Diner, 46, started spasming after eating restaurant dish with ‘tainted chilli sauce’ that also left her husband seriously ill

An Italian woman reportedly died after she began having spasms while eating a pizza at a restaurant that allegedly contained contaminated chili sauce.

The couple was having dinner on Saturday night in the southern Italian town of Ariano Irpino and returned home safely.

But the next morning they fell ill and continued to feel unwell until yesterday, when they were admitted to the hospital suffering from spasms.

Gerardina Corsano, 46, died from possible food poisoning from botulinum, a bacteria that produces dangerous toxins and may have been found in the chili seasoning used on her pizza at the restaurant. Corriere della Sera reports.

Her husband, agricultural businessman Angelo Meninno, 52, was hospitalized and is in serious condition after they also used the same sauce on his pizza, according to the Italian newspaper. Doctors say she could survive.

Gerardina Corsano, 46 ​​years old, and her husband Angelo Meninno

The Benevento Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into the woman’s death and an autopsy will be carried out in the coming days.

The police officers carrying out the investigations have also recovered the chilli seasoning, which will be subjected to analysis and some witnesses will also be questioned.

Ariano Irpino’s restaurant, where the couple had dined, was reportedly seized at the request of Marilia Capitanio of the Benevento prosecutor’s office.

The products subjected to checks by the judicial police were used by several other customers and also by the owner’s family without causing any problems, said Guerino Gazzella, lawyer for the owner of the pizzeria, according to the publication.

The lawyer also noted that his client “immediately made himself available to collaborate” with investigators.