Melon Acres just announced the recall of cantaloupes that were distributed through Farm-Wey Produce of Lakeland, Florida due to potential health concerns related to contamination with the Salmonella pathogen. The recall was issued following a testing on Tuesday, August 11, 2009 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that revealed one of a sample of twenty cantaloupes taken by the FDA tested positive for Salmonella.
The FDA said it reported the positive test to Melon Acres on Friday, August 21, 2009. The cantaloupes were shipped August 13th and 14th and were identified as 41 MG 10, Bin Numbers 4753-4980. These bins were distributed to Aldi’s in Greenwood, Indiana and Meijer in Lansing, Michigan; Newport, Michigan; and Tipp City, Ohio.
The FDA and Melon Acres identified the field in which the contaminated cantaloupe sample was grown and no further shipments will be made from that source field. The agency and Melon Acres are collaborating to identify the contamination source. To date, there have been no reports of illness connected with this Salmonella contamination.
Earlier this year we reported that the FDA announced that L&M Companies, Inc. of Raleigh, North Carolina, issued a three-state recall of its whole cantaloupes because of a possible health risk due to concerns of Salmonella contamination. As of May, investigators were unable to locate additional Salmonella at L&M. The recall came after a cantaloupe at a farm from which L&M Companies sources its products tested positive for Salmonella.
The Salmonella pathogen can cause serious, sometimes fatal Salmonellosis infections in young children; weak or elderly people; and those with weakened immune systems, such as patients undergoing chemotherapy or who have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and other immune system compromising diseases.
Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain within 12 to 72 hours of contamination. Generally, the illness lasts a week, but, in some, hospitalization is required because the infection may have spread to the blood stream and other body sites, producing more significant illnesses. Without treatment, severe cases of Salmonella poisoning can result in arterial infections—such as infected aneurysms—endocarditis, arthritis, and death. Some Salmonella bacteria are resistant to antibiotics, largely due to the use of antibiotics to promote the growth of feed animals.
Salmonella is usually found in food contaminated with animal feces and is a group of bacteria that passes from the feces of people or animals to other people or animals, causing contamination when food is improperly stored or handled and when preparers do not wash their hands or sanitize implements involved in food storage.
Salmonella is the most frequently reported cause of food-related outbreaks of stomach illness worldwide and Salmonella poisoning can lead to Reiter’s Syndrome, a difficult-to-treat reactive arthritis characterized by severe joint pain, irritation of the eyes, and painful urination.
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