After a First Communion banquet in Benevento, a city of 60,000 in southern Italy, several attendees developed severe symptoms of gastroenteritis. The banquet, attended by about 60 people, took place on June 14, 1998, between 2:00 and 6:00 p.m., during the hottest part of the day. An investigation was immediately launched to identify the causative agent, the contaminated food, and any errors made during meal preparation. Of the 58 attendees, 36—including 9 children—became ill approximately 25 hours after eating the meal (median incubation period). Of the various dishes on the menu, only the consumption of a cake covered with icing—for which raw egg whites had been used—was associated with a relative risk greater than 6. The cake had been stored in the refrigerator until the participants arrived and then left at room temperature throughout the banquet, a period of four hours; the heat likely facilitated the growth of Salmonella. Refrigeration could have reduced the contamination rate and, consequently, the attack rate (71%). Icing, as described in this article, thus joins the list of raw egg-based food products—the most common source of contamination in Italy—namely "tiramisu" and mayonnaise. Two measures should be taken to prevent the spread of Salmonella.