--- title: Botulism tainted olives claim the life of a Helsinki woman date: 2011-10-30T17:57:33-07:00 author: Bill Marler canonical_url: "https://marlerclark.com/news_events/botulism-tainted-olives-claim-the-life-of-a-helsinki-woman" section: News --- [All News](/news_events) / [Outbreaks](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/outbreaks) / # Botulism tainted olives claim the life of a Helsinki woman An elderly woman has died as a result of botulism poisoning, produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, after eating almond-stuffed olives contaminated by botulinum toxin. According to the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District, she passed on Thursday. Another adult member of the same family remains in hospital, and the person is said to be improving. These illnesses are linked to recalled olives that were distributed to the USA, as well as the UK, Finland, and Germany. The tainted olives were packed in 314ml glass jars, with a best before date of 09/2012. They were imported into Finland by Kespro as early as September 2010. The olives were sold in Finland to K-food stores KCM Big Apple (Espoo), KCM Jumbo (Vantaa) and KSM South Centre (Rovaniemi), and to a few restaurants. According to a notice posted October 21, 2011 on the Rapid Alert System for Foods and Feeds (RASFF) and updated this morning (October 24th), these olives also were distributed to the United Kingdom and the USA. 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The team at Marler Clark is here to answer all your questions. Find out if you’re eligible for a lawsuit, what questions to ask your doctor, and more. [ Get a free consultation ](https://marlerclark.com/contact) ##### Related Resources ###### [What is Botulism?](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/botulism/what-is-botulism) Botulism is a life-threatening paralytic illness caused by neurotoxins produced by an anaerobic, gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium—Clostridium botulinum. Botulism is a rare disease and only affects a few hundred persons each... ###### [Epidemiology and Microbiology of Botulism](https://marlerclark.com/foodborne-illnesses/botulism/epidemiology-and-microbiology-of-botulism) C. botulinum bacteria and spores are widely distributed in nature because they are indigenous to soils and waters. 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