Artisan Cheesemaker Nearly Destroyed 130-Year-Old Family Legacy with His Own Fingers
Marco De Luca comes from a long line of artisan cheesemakers in Italy, dating back to his great grandfather era, who first started the De Luca creamery over 130 years ago. The De Luca family has always made the quality of their cheese their highest priority, ensuring that they produced only the highest quality cheese possible.
The De Luca creamery is one of the last remaining creameries that still produces cheese traditionally, thus making Marco’s cheeses highly exclusive. His cheeses are made in small batches each year and only supplied to the top restaurants in Italy whose clientele demand the absolute best in quality ingredients.
But things changed after Marco got a visit from the local health office…
An Investigation of Marco’s Creamery
They had come after receiving over 60 reports of food poisoning cases at the restaurants that the De Luca creamery supplied to. After investigation, the only common trend between the cases was found to be Marco’s cheese, which was why the local health office made the visit. With all signs pointing towards it, Marco was forced to suspend operations to allow for an investigation.
“Even the slightest contamination could affect the taste of our aged cheeses. So, I personally made sure that everything was sanitized daily to avoid a bad batch. It was important that I maintained my cleanliness to avoid contamination. It felt impossible that our cheese was making people sick.” – Marco De Luca
Marco was certain that his cheese wasn’t the culprit. How could it possibly be when Marco was personally involved in every step of the cheesemaking process? The investigation team did not find any issues with the sanitation of his creamery. As Marco had said, his creamery was kept spotless, and maintained meticulously as the ideal place for cheesemaking.
The True Culprit
But instead, they found that Marco’s fingernails were the true culprit behind the food poisoning. His nails were infected with a severe case of onychomycosis, also known as nail fungus. Both his left index and middle fingernails were discolored, and brittle at the tips. Even the skin around his right thumbnail was inflamed. His other fingers even showed signs of infection as well.
Washing his hands did nothing with the fungus growing directly on his fingernails. It would still be transferred from his nails to his cheeses as he made them, no matter how thoroughly he washed and sanitized his hands. The health office wouldn’t allow his creamery to reopen after this discovery.
He Was Disappointed in Himself, But Didn’t Give Up
Marco was disappointed in himself, after all, he had wasted the effort that generations of his family made in building up the De Luca creamery. He felt that it was his responsibility to carry on his family’s legacy and uphold their dedication to quality. But instead, he ended their legacy with a shameful oversight instead.
Marco knew that if he didn’t do something about his nail fungus, his family’s legacy would truly have been killed by him. He started looking for a way to deal with it.
“Doctors said that topical treatments could take well over a year to be effective, and I couldn’t afford to keep the creamery closed for that long. It would be a death sentence to business and our reputation. Laser treatment was the only option for a quick solution, but at $1000 per nail, it was just too expensive. Especially now since I had no source of income.” – Marco De Luca
He was cornered and at his wit’s end, just about ready to lose all hope of saving his family’s legacy. But it was then when fate turned…
Hope for Marco
A childhood friend and longtime customer named Pietro approached Marco. Pietro’s family ran one of Italy’s best restaurants and have gotten their cheese from the De Luca creamery for generations ever since they started out. Hearing about his old friend’s struggle, Pietro wanted to lend a hand.
He introduced Marco to Dr. Karl Retzius, a Medical Mycologist who specialized in the research of natural antibacterial medicine. Dr. Retzius had recently discovered a solution to fungal infections with a team of cosmetics experts and developed an all-in-one tool they called the Burill™ Pen.
The Burill™ Pen
The Burill™ Pen contains an organic antibacterial solution consisting of castor oil, parsley extract, and caramel which can fight back against fungal infections. Designed specifically for both fingernails and toenails, the Burill™ Pen has a specially designed nylon brush tip that allows for easy application on nails.
The Burill™ solution diffuses into the nails and surrounding skin, rejuvenating their keratin and epidermis, promoting healthier nail growth. Killing 99.9% of nail fungus while protecting from reinfection.
Marco’s Recovery
Marco was invited to participate in the final clinical trials for the solution, he accepted and immediately began using the Burill™ Pen. Applying it on his fingernails 3 times a day.
Within a week, the infection on his skin settled down. Two weeks in, the yellowish tint on his nails had faded and he was able to easily trim away the severely damaged areas. It even worked wonders on his infected toenails as well!
A month later, his nails were pristine, as if nothing ever happened.
The De Luca Family Creamery Reopens!
Marco was blown away. He was finally proven fungus-free and allowed to reopen the family creamery. Business was slow at first because of the time he took off for recovery, but he got a breakthrough when his cheeses were featured on a TV cooking competition.
Being featured on TV elevated him and his cheeses into the spotlight, drawing both the restaurants he supplied to before and new ones to the family creamery. The demand for his cheeses was so high that Marco even took in apprentices and planned expand the creamery to increase production.
“I can’t tell you how happy I was when my nails got better. It was heartbreaking when we were forced to close, I felt like I let my family down. But now it feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I’ve finally done right by my family’s legacy.” – Marco De Luca
Over 95% of participants in the Burill™ clinical trials has had positive results. If someone you know suffers from a nail fungus infection, please share this story with them, it might just be the solution that they need.