Salmonella contamination at a meat plant caused nearly 600 people across Spain to fall ill, according to The Associated Press.


The Health Ministry said 579 people contracted severe diarrhoea after eating the Sada company’s roast chickens. While most were hospitalized for only a few hours, the ministry said the death of a 90-year-old man in the eastern Valencia region was suspected to be linked to the contaminated meat.


Sada says the contamination originated in a pipe at its plant near Toledo, south of Madrid, that poured sauce onto the meat before packing.


The product has been withdrawn from sale. The head of Spain’s food safety agency, Jose Ignacio Arranz, said the number of people infected was unlikely to rise much further.