About 1,120 cartons of Del Monte cantaloupe is being recalled over concerns of Salmonella contamination. Mercury News announced that Raley’s grocers are recalling the potentially contaminated cantaloupe that was sold in Northern California and Nevada. The recall was initiated after routine testing detected the Salmonella pathogen in the Del Monte cantaloupe, Mercury News said, citing the California Department of Public Health.

Mercury News reported that the recalled cantaloupe was sold throughout the San Francisco Bay Area at Raley’s and at Raley’s subsidiaries: Nob Hill Foods and Food Source. The cantaloupes were purchased between October 5 and October 16; consumers can exchange the recalled cantaloupe for full refund, said Mercury News.

Some Salmonella bacteria are resistant to antibiotics, largely due to the use of antibiotics to promote the growth of feed animals. Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstance, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis, and arthritis.

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.

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.

Anyone who has eaten the recalled Del Monte cantaloupe and who is experiencing Salmonella symptoms is urged to contact a healthcare provider.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 10:52 am and is filed under Defective Products, Food Poisoning, Food Products, Product Recalls, Recalled Food Products, Salmonella.