An outbreak of salmonella typhimurium, which has resulted in two fatalities and infected 141 people across 20 states, has been linked to cantaloupe grown in southwestern Indiana.
According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an unnamed Indianan cantaloupe producer has been identified as the likely source of contamination by a joint investigation involving state, local, and federal public health and regulatory agencies.
The farm is withdrawing its cantaloupe from the marketplace and has contacted its distributors over the recall. The farm has agreed to cease distributing cantaloupes for the rest of the growing season, CDC added.
“Based on the available information, consumers can continue to purchase and eat cantaloupes that did not originate in southwestern Indiana,” CDC said. “Many cantaloupes have the growing area identified with a sticker on the fruit. If no sticker is present, consumers should inquire about the source.”
At the end of last year, an outbreak of listeria was also linked to cantaloupe in the US. The epidemic was the country’s worst food bourne outbreak since 1924 and resulted in 30 deaths.
