A man has died and nine others have been rushed to hospital after they ate a broccoli and sausage sandwich in Italy, amid a growing outbreak of botulism in the country.

Musician Luigi Di Sarno, 52, collapsed after eating the alleged contaminated sandwich from a food truck on the Diamante seafront in the province of Cosenza, Italy. Cosenza is in the Calabria region of the country.

Nine others were taken to the intensive care unit of Annunziata Hospital, including two teenagers and two women in their 40s.

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Two of the patients remain in a very serious condition.

Di Sarno’s family are among those who have fallen ill, reports The Mirror.

All patients have the symptoms of botulism, which is a rare but life-threatening condition caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria.

Following the outbreak in the Cosenza region, officials have ordered the immediate seizure of a commercial product, which is thought to be broccoli in oil.

The food truck which sold the sandwiches has also been seized.

An anti-toxin serum used to treat botulism is being distributed across Italy.

“The emergency procedure established in these cases has been activated, which requires immediate notification to the Poison Control Center in Pavia, the only national centre designated for the management of botulism,” the Calabria Region’s Department of Health and Welfare said.

“No region or hospital in the country is authorised to store the antivenom in their own facilities.

“This serum, however, is exclusively available to the Ministry of Health, which holds it in designated secure locations and distributes it only through the Lombardy Poison Control Centre.

“The first two vials, used for the first patients, were sent directly from the Military Pharmacy in Taranto.

“However, as the number of cases increased, additional supplies became necessary.

“Yesterday, the Calabria Region, through Azienda Zero, provided a 118 aircraft that flew to the San Camillo Hospital in Rome, where the ministry had centralised additional vials of the antivenom to facilitate distribution.”

A friend of Di Sarno posted a tribute on Facebook.

“Rest in peace my friend and thank you for all your life and culture lessons since I was just a child. I always admired your character and will never forget your noble and kind soul. Watch over your loved ones. Here’s who Luigi Di Sarno was,” Gennaro Russo wrote.

It comes after eight people became ill with botulism last month in Sardinia, after eating infected guacamole at Fiesta Latina, reported Italian newspaper, La Repubblica.

An 11-year-old boy remains in intensive care at the Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome.

A woman, 38, reportedly died after she ate a taco with guacamole at the same festival in the Cagliari hinterland.