Lawyer: DeFusco's Had No Insurance, Could File Bankruptcy

DeFusco's Bakery in Johnston and Cranston did not have insurance and intends to file bankruptcy, said a lawyer representing some of the victims of a salmonella outbreak that started in late March.

In a blog post, Bill Marler of Marler Clark, a leading food safety law firm said "we have been informed that DeFusco's may well have no insurance and intends to file bankruptcy."

The bakery's inspection report was alarming, he said, and "the fact that it will leave dozens of families without a likely legal recourse is pathetic."

A total of 79 people were stricken with illness, 48 of which were lab-confirmed salmonella cases. Thirty people were hospitalized and two died in the outbreak that began on March 25 when the state Department of Health issued a recall of all baked goods from the bakery.

The bakery has remained shuttered since the incident. Calls to the bakery have not been returned.

The health department traced the outbreak to unsafe food handling practices at the bakery including the practice of storing pastry shells in used egg cartons and cream at alarmingly high temperatures. Samples of egg cartons taken from the bakery tested positive for salmonella.

The outbreak is one of the , lawyers said. That's because such a large percentage of people who consumed the zeppoles were elderly. DeFusco's apparently supplied several caterers and distributors with zeppoles. One of those caterers served the pastries at a number of senior centers and assisted living facilities.