HEALTHY CANTALOUPES CAN MAKE YOU ILL

Cantaloupes are one of my favorite foods - not just for dessert, but as a side dish to fish and even with certain meat. I also like to think of cantaloupe as healthy - a good source of folate (an important B-vitamin micronutrient needed for healthy growth and cell maintenance), of carotenoids, vitamin C and of potassium. But almost every year in the U.S. we have dangerous bacteria turning up in cantaloupes and widespread cantaloupe recalls.

In mid August, Burch Farms recalled the cantaloupes and melons they had distributed because of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria being found. Now DFI Marketing Inc. of Fresno, California, is recalling their cantaloupe products, because testing turned up Salmonella bacteria.

And this is not some tiny recall. These DFI cantaloupes were distributed a week or more ago( primarily to retail customers) in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, in the U.S. and in Mexico. (Presumably they also were grown in Mexico).

The company assumes that most of them have been eaten by now. So, if you have been eating cantaloupe, and have been, or are ill with food poisoning symptoms, this may be the cause.

I was tempted to buy cantaloupe today, but I didn't. As usual, in cases like this, I draw a wide circle around a recalled food item, until we find out if the recall expands...

To your good health,

TSF

WHO'S MOST AT RISK FROM LISTERIA IN MUSHROOMS, CANTALOUPES AND OTHER FOODS?

Listeria monocytogenes is a weird bacterium. It may barely affect some people but can kill others. It is also unusual in another way: symptoms are likely to turn up anywhere from three to 70 days after you are exposed (some estimates say one to 90 days!). The third way it is atypical is the symptoms of illness themselves are more like the 'flu than what one would expect from food poisoning. That makes Listeriosis (the disease caused) not only selectively dangerous but very difficult to diagnose.

During the last few weeks, this tricky bacterium has been found in several foods in the U.S. Yes, it has turned up in some cheeses, which is fairly common. But it has also been found in foods such as cantaloupes, honeydew melons and white mushrooms (and prepared foods made with these mushrooms)which is far less usual. In fact, it is becoming very difficult to avoid it.

So who should be most worried? Pregnant women, newborns, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems (for example: people on cancer treatment or steroids and people with diabetes, kidney disease, liver disease and HIV infection). In the case of pregnant women, eating food contaminated with a sufficient number of these bacteria can cause miscarriages and still births.

If you belong to one of these groups, you need to be extra careful in what you eat and how you prepare your food, not just during outbreaks, but all the time (see next post for some guidance).

To your good health,

TSF

THE CAUSE OF THE CANTALOUPE OUTBREAK?

Well, it seems that a tentative cause has been found for the Listeria bacteria contamination of cantaloupes all over the U.S.. This really bad outbreak has now killed around 25 people, made at least 123 people ill, and probably affected many, who didn't become ill, but may become carriers of the bacteria.

Investigators have zeroed in on the packing shed at Jensen Farms in Ohio. The Listeria monocytogenes bacteria has been isolated in samples taken from the cantaloupe conveyor belts, a melon drying area, and a floor drain. Now the question is: how did it get there? A packing shed on a farm is like a transit area, with a whole lot going on. So there are many possibilities.

It could have been in the soil covering the cantaloupes when they came there . Or, it could have been in the washing water (it wouldn't be the first time that washing water actually made produce less safe, rather than more safe). Or, it could have been that recently purchased equipment from another farm which had previously been used to wash potatoes. Or, possibly, it could have come from workers in the sheds who were carriers (a lot of people are). Or, even from a truck, parked too close to the packing shed, which could have brought Listeria from another farm or road or field. We may never find out.

The farm didn't do too well during recent government inspection in terms of other conditions as well. Among the things that government inspectors noticed were pools of water on the floor (which could be recent, after the farm closed operations), cloths used to cover the melons, inadequate cooling of cantaloupes, and rather worn out and hard-to-clean equipment.
And guess what, this farm had passed a recent inspection by a privates safety contractor with flying colors (the packing plant scored 96 out of 100).

So what else is new. This has happened before many times (for example, with that huge peanut outbreak that originated in Georgia). Why? The procedure is for the farm or plant to hire and pay the company that inspects. So, hum ha, you might say they were a little biased towards giving a good report. These procedures have to be changed, and inspectors everywhere have to be trained better (I go on about this in the book).

Of course, the Jensen brothers have gone out of business and are battling numerous law suits. I feel sorry for them. This can happen so easily.

To your good health,
TSF