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 has died after suffering cramps after eating a pizza at a restaurant that allegedly contained tainted chilli sauce.

The couple had dinner in the town of Ariano Irpino in southern Italy on Saturday evening and returned home without incident.

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

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

Her husband, 52-year-old agricultural entrepreneur Angelo Meninno, has been hospitalized and is in serious condition after the same sauce was also used on his pizza, the Italian daily said. Doctors say he could survive.

Pizza (stock image). On Sunday, Gerardina Corsano and her husband fell ill and continued to feel unwell until yesterday, when they were hospitalized for spasms, according to a report.

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

Police conducting the investigation have also recovered the chili pepper seasoning, which will be subjected to analysis, and some witnesses will also be interviewed.

The restaurant in Ariano Irpino, where the couple had dinner, was reportedly seized at the request of Marilia Capitanio of the Benevento Public Prosecutor’s Office.

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

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