Kroger grocery stores is removing cut cantaloupe products from locations in four states, but other Kroger stores may soon be joining in. The grocery retailer’s removal of cut cantaloupe products from stores in Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and Kentucky was prompted by a recall issued by Burch Farms in North Carolina for possible Listeria contamination. But cantaloupes produced in southwestern Indiana are also being recalled as they have been identified as the source of a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened 141 people in 20 states, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Friday. "It's unbelievable that better traceback measures are not in place, especially after the deadly cantaloupe Listeria outbreak last year," said Attorney Fred Pritzker, food safety advocate and … [Read more...]
CDC Announcement of Salmonella Cantaloupe Outbreak
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has officially announced the multistate outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium linked to cantaloupes grown in Indiana.The announcement comes over a month after people began getting sick from the melons. "Every effort should be made to quickly determine the source of a Salmonella outbreak, and when a likely source is found, state and federal health officials should immediately alert the public," said Fred Pritzker, national Salmonella lawyer and food safety advocate. "The primary goal should be prevention of illness." So far, 141 people are ill in 20 states; 31 are hospitalized, and two people in Kentucky have died. The case count by state is: Alabama (7), Arkansas (3), California (2), Georgia (1), Illinois (17), Indiana (13), Iowa (7), … [Read more...]
Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois Hit Hard in Cantaloupe Salmonella Outbreak
The states of Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana have been hit hard in the latest outbreak of Salmonella linked to contaminated cantaloupe. The outbreak has sickened at least 141 people in 20 states and hospitalized 31. “It is mind boggling how cantaloupe growers continue to ignore basic food safety measures that can prevent their cantaloupe from being contaminated with Salmonella and other dangerous pathogens,” said Fred Pritzker, a national food safety attorney who has won millions for his clients, including $4.5 million for one client this year. The Kentucky Department of Public Health says that the outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium, which has sickened at least 50 Kentuckians and has been associated with two deaths in the state, began in early July. Public health officials are … [Read more...]
Kentucky Lab Links Cantaloupes To Deadly Salmonella Outbreak
The Kentucky public health lab has established that Salmonella found in cantaloupes grown on a farm in southwestern Indiana matches the strain that has sickened 141 people in a 20 state outbreak that has hospitalized 31 people and killed two, according to the Kentucky Department of Public Health. "This finding is 'smoking gun' evidence that cantaloupe from the Indiana farm caused this outbreak," said Attorney Fred Pritzker, a national food safety lawyer who recently won $4.5 million for a client sickened in another outbreak. The Salmonella deaths occurred in Kentucky where at least 50 people have been sickened since the beginning of July. Public health officials are investigating whether other clusters of Salmonella food poisoning cases in the state might also be part of the … [Read more...]
Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella from Indiana Cantaloupes; Deaths in Kentucky
There has been another outbreak linked to contaminated cantaloupes. The FDA announced today that 141 people have been sickened with Salmonella Typhimurium in 20 states. Thirty one people have been hospitalized, and two people in Kentucky have died. The case count is as follows: Alabama (7), Arkansas (3), California (2), Georgia (1), Illinois (17), Indiana (13), Iowa (7), Kentucky (50), Michigan (6), Minnesota (3), Missouri (9), Mississippi (2), New Jersey (1), North Carolina (3), Ohio (3), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (3), Tennessee (6), Texas (1), and Wisconsin (2). Public health officials in Kentucky and Indiana have discovered cantaloupes grown in southwestern Indiana may be the source of the outbreak. The investigation is in the early stages. A state laboratory in Kentucky … [Read more...]