Cantaloupe Consumption Linked to Four Deaths?
- Posted on September 15, 2011 at 10:42pm by
Liz Klimas
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DENVER (The/BlazeAP) —Have you ever been told that you should wash — and dry — your melons before slicing into them? If so, did you do that?
If you hadn’t or you didn’t, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is saying there’s a pretty good reason now why you should.
AP reports four deaths, other sources say at least two deaths, have been caused by listeriosis – a disease caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes that than can result in fever, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions — in New Mexico and Colorado, which are reportedly linked to cantaloupes.
The warning came after numerous cases of a strain of Listeria were reported in six states, including at least 11 from Colorado, 10 from New Mexico, two from Texas, and one each from Indiana, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
The agency said it was the first Listeria outbreak linked to cantaloupe in the United States.
Colorado Agriculture Commissioner John Salazar said the contamination might not be the cantaloupes, but a truck or other source. But several Colorado grocery chains pulled their supplies as a precaution, and New Mexico issued a voluntary recall. State Environmental Health Bureau inspectors were collecting cantaloupe samples from grocery stores and distributors across New Mexico for laboratory analysis.
The CDC warning advised people with cantaloupes at home to see if they came from the Rocky Ford region, and if so, not to eat the melons if they’re in a vulnerable group. Health authorities asked people throwing out Rocky Ford cantaloupes to put them in a sealed plastic bag before putting them in the trash.
The CDC says pregnant women, infants and those with compromised immune systems are most vulnerable to the bacteria.
NPR reported a few years ago in a fact vs. fiction story about washing fruits and vegetables that the grooved surface of cantaloupes is a breeding ground for pathogens.
“When you cut open the cantaloupe, you can transfer bacteria to the fleshy part inside.” said Luke LaBorde, associate professor in Penn State University’s Department of Food Science. And because a cantaloupe is not an acidic fruit — unlike, say, a tart apple — bacteria can grow more easily on the fleshy part.
Will you be washing this fruit now?
This story has been updated for clarity.
[H/T NPR]
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Comments (44)
Dustyluv
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 6:25amThose wonderful illegal immigrants…Do you think they bother to stop working and go to the bathroom when working on the trucks or in the fields? NO!! THEY PEE AND CRAP ON YOUR FOOD!
I have seen them using the back of trucks as a bathroom, then load it with produce. The use the fields as their bathroom. That’s what happens when you have the uneducated come to our Country…You can lay this all at the feet of the illegal alien. Wake up America.
Report Post »Secret Squirrel
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 8:59am.Dustluv hit the nail on the head.
Report Post »Ever wonder why these health risks were never a problem before we threw our borders away?
TomFerrari
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 10:19amMy father told me about when he was stationed in Japan…The G.I.’s needed to use the restroom, and tried to just “go in the field” LIKE ALL THE JAPANESE WORKERS DID (in the rice paddies) – However, the locals would stop them because, “TOO MUCH PAPER” – The objection was not that the G.I.s were also taking a dump in the field. It was that they used paper to wipe afterwards !
So, I KNOW field workers just “do it” in the field. (Self fertilizing?)
Report Post ».
EEeeewwwwww !
MOLLYPITCHER
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 6:24amI know that what I said about raw milk will draw comments about the FDA. Just another reason why the FDA needs to be overhauled. People should be able to choose what they eat.
Report Post »MOLLYPITCHER
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 6:22amDrink raw milk. It is your best defense against food borne illnesses,it helps your body to be resistant to millions of bacteria. If you know the animals are healthy theres no reason not to.
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 10:21amI would agree, but also suggest caution for the elderly, very young, chemo patients, etc. Weak immune systems may not be able to handle raw milk.
Report Post »SummerB
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 6:21amAll melons need to be washed 1st because if there is bacteria on the surface it will transfer to the knife & then to the flesh of the fruit.
Report Post »vegtech
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 4:21amI’m sick and very ILL of the current administration. It statred when MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCHELLE and Wallyworld began touting proper nutrition can be found @ Wallyworld. Now we see MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCHELLE, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, ect are all on track and the same page to swallow their bacteria. Can we sue?
Report Post »vegtech
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 4:14amEver been to Rocky Ford, CO? Not a place to stop at, even for fuel!
Report Post »AmeriCat
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 2:53amNo, never told….but, common sense….
Years ago I saw fungus on the cantaloup skin and
realized if fungus can be there, so can ANY organism.
Yes, for years, I have told everyone in our family
Report Post »to wash/dry cantaloup before cutting….and we all do.
But, whether or not it helps, because the skin is so rough?…don’t know.
GETLIFE
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 2:29amMy own personal Center for Disease Control (my mother) taught me that years ago.
Report Post »Diane TX
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 2:27amI never had washed cantaloupe before, and I never had gotten sick from not washing it either. I rinse tomatoes and lettuce before eating them, and have never gotten sick from merely rinsing. I thought that it was quite silly when the produce washing products came on the market a few years back. Are they still around?
There will always be a few of us adversely effected by “something” we eat or touch in our environment. They key word is “few”. Four deaths out of 360 million in the USA is very few.
Report Post »PATTY HENRY
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 2:45amStill, I sent this page to my kids, other friends. I never washed Cantalopes, but I sure will now.
Report Post »I know that by washing my hands every time I play with dogs or go out or pass a sink has made the world “COLD” almost a foreign word in my life… WASHING hands/fruit …. it’s worth it!
AmeriCat
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 2:57amAgree, 4 deaths is very few.
I noticed that these farms use no pesticides….a GOOD thing.
Could these farms be targeted?
?Crony Capitalism?…someone what their farmland?
Soros has been gobbling up…buying…American farmland like crazy!
Report Post »FatherlandPatriot88
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 2:04amLeave it to big government to get in the way and KILL CHILDREN with this indoctrinated fruit. GET OUT OF THE WAY and let the free market take care of it!!!! Do you REALLY think that you would have fruit POINSED by the government if there was no regulation or government getting in the way of businesS?
Report Post »Rowgue
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 1:10amListeriosis is not uncommon. Most wild animals are carriers of it. That is why they tell you to purify water from rivers and streams before drinking. Animals urinate and deficate near the waterways when they go there to drink. And it’s also why you should NEVER EVER leave very small children by themselves outdoors. They love to put things in their mouths, which is a recipe for disaster.
People die all the time from this disease. You need to be very careful about putting anything in your mouth that came from outdoors, including your own hands/fingers after you’ve been rooting around in the garden or some other such activity. Canned goods also need to always be washed before opening. A lot of stuff gets stored where critters like mice and roaches and whatever else will roam around and deficate wherever they please, and that’s all sitting right on the top of your soda can.
Report Post »Darla_K
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 6:10amYou convinced me. :)
Report Post »Rational Man
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 1:02amHey Blaze, since your tip line doesn’t seem to be working, why havn’t we heard about the rocket launcher and other weapons found near the Rio Grande in Texas?
Rocket launcher found on the Rio Grande with other weapons.
http://www.wnep.com/sns-rt-us-border-grenades-texastre78d70x-20110914,0,856547.story
jb.kibs
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 2:22ama product of fast and furious?
Report Post »Darla_K
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 6:09amThankyou for the info. This is important news as far as I am concerned and it makes you wonder how many other important stories aren’t getting out to the public. Not sure if I believe they were headed to Mexico but you never know.
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 12:33amJensen Farm’s owner and Walmart is getting sued by a Tammy and Charles Palmer, a couple from Colorado Springs. Seems the husband got sick after eating a cantaloupe. He remains in the hospital in serious condition.
Some people are just to quick and looking for a pay out. It is not like either business set out to intentionally make the husband sick or others.It hasn’t been proven that the Farm or Walmart is at fault. Some think the truck to transport the cantaloupe is the culprit.
Report Post »jb.kibs
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 2:20amthat’s how defense lawyers should argue it too…
no intent = no case.
yes, walmart sells guns, but they don’t put them to your head and force you to buy their products.
Report Post »Psychosis
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 12:31amyou mean fruits and vegetables dont come clean ???????
educations system………………..dumbing down America since 1970′s
Report Post »BooButtBrown
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 12:11amMy Mother got this and was so sick. Stay away from this…
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 12:02amI have always washed my fruits & vegetables with soap & water, thanks to my dear old Mother. You don’t know where the stuff comes from.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 12:36amYes… me too .. even when you raise your own produce you never know what has gotten on it … wash and dry it before slicing always .. some lemon juice (or even white vinegar) in the water also helps to disinfect.
Report Post »Saint Mick
Posted on September 16, 2011 at 12:02amIncase you dont know they pack the melons directly in the feild it does not go to a packing house. The fruit is never washed just picked and put in a box
Report Post »maverickxt1
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 11:38pmWash all of your fruits and vegetables. Isn’t that what your mother taught you. But then I was born in 1949 when parents had common sense.
Report Post »Common.Cents
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 11:33pmI have honestly only washed leafy produce. That seems a little too much to me….
Report Post »Rayblue
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 11:24pmI’d wash the tap water off if it was possible.
Report Post »tarkus
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 11:03pmI always rinse off any fruit or vegetable I eat even if I don’t eat the skin.
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 11:20pmNothing like seeing a shopper pick their nose and then pick through the fruit.
Report Post »Make the Stupid People Shut Up
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 11:02pmI wash every fruit and vegetable with soap and water
Report Post »barber2
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 10:59pmBut why are we having this outbreak now? We haven ‘t needed to wash cantaloupes before. How, why , and where did this originate ?
Report Post »Gamaliel
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 11:37pmThe diseases, toileting & handwashing habits of those working in the fields probably isn’t what it used to be when the workers were from here.
Report Post »Rayblue
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 10:58pmFever, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance.
I have cantaloupe fever every morning about 6 it seems.
Then I have my coffee and I have horse radish a$$.
Report Post »barber2
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 11:00pmMaybe you need some coffee now ?
Report Post »Rayblue
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 11:20pmDo I need to wash off the coffee first ?
Report Post »MaxineH20Sux
Posted on September 15, 2011 at 10:56pmWatermelons too. Any fruit or veggie with a tough skin should be washed with soap and water and then sliced.
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