The cantaloupe Salmonella outbreak that ended in January included four deaths in Minnesota, one in Oregon, and one in Indiana, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In Canada, seven deaths were reported. "The number of fatalities is unusually high," said Food Safety Attorney Eric Hageman whose law firm Pritzker Hageman is representing people sickened in the outbreak. The outbreak was linked to Salmonella Oranienburg and Salmonella Sundsvall, a rare strain that causes severe illness, said Hageman, who is also the Publisher of Food Poisoning Bulletin. The hospitalization rate was also higher than average. The outbreak, linked to Malichita and Rudy brand cantaloupe imported from Mexico, ended on January 19 with 407 illnesses, 158 hospitalizations, and six … [Read more...]
Does Indiana Cantaloupe Have a Salmonella Problem?
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) closed without solving its investigation of a Salmonella Newport outbreak that sickened 11 people in August. But information the agency gathered during its probe unearthed a troubling finding. During interviews with patients, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) learned that people who got sick had eaten cantaloupe or watermelon before developing symptoms of Salmonella infections. Tracing the source of the melons back from the point of purchase, the FDA was able to determine that the melons were grown in Southwest Indiana. Three environmental samples collected from farms there matched the outbreak strain of Salmonella Newport. Other samples from a “farm of interest and surrounding areas” were positive for … [Read more...]
