The Great Michigan Pizza Funeral (also referred to as the Great Pizza Funeral of Michigan and the Great Pizza Burial) was the ceremonial disposal of 29,188 frozen cheese-and-mushroom pizzas in Ossineke, Michigan on March 5, 1973.[1][2] The manufacturer, Ilario "Mario" Fabbrini,[3] had been ordered to recall the pizzas by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after initial tests suggested the presence of botulism-causing bacteria in a batch of canned mushrooms.
Fabbrini decided to ceremonially dispose of the pizzas to demonstrate accountability and receive publicity. The pizzas were tipped into an 18-foot (5.5 m) deep hole in the ground before a crowd of onlookers, who were addressed by Michigan governor William Milliken. Later tests by the FDA ruled out botulism. Fabbrini sued his suppliers, and the Michigan Court of Appeals awarded him $211,000 in 1979, though he closed his business a few years later.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
tribunewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ John. "A Bizarre Funeral for 30,000 Contaminated Frozen Pizzas". Youtube. Plainly Difficult. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
- ^ "Tainted mushrooms end immigrant's Ossineke pizza factory". thealpenanews.com. Retrieved January 29, 2024.