It’s been less than three weeks since our last report on a link between cantaloupes and Salmonella contamination. As we said before:
Salmonella bacteria in the soil can easily cling to the pitted surface of ground-growing melons and can be transferred to the edible flesh of the fruit if the rind is not properly cleaned before being cut.
This time, L&M Companies, Inc., of Raleigh, NC, is recalling one lot of whole cantaloupes because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. L&M Companies is no longer receiving shipments from the small farm where a cantaloupe tested positive for Salmonella contamination. According to the FDA alert:
The whole cantaloupes were sold between May 10-15, 2009 in Walmart Supercenter Stores in North Carolina and South Carolina, and in the Walmart Supercenter Store located at 315 Furr Street in South Hill, Virginia. Consumers who have purchased whole cantaloupes from these Walmart stores during this time period should not consume them, and should destroy the product.
Salmonella is an organism which 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 circumstances, 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.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2011
