The death toll rises to 15 in a listeria outbreak where contaminated cantaloupe made more than 80 people ill. The bacteria kills 30% of those who ingest it. It is particularly dangerous for the very young, the elderly and those who have suppressed immune systems.
Jensen Farms located in Colorado has recalled 300,000 of the cantaloupe it grew. States affected were Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinios, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
What’s surprising is that four different strains of listeria were found in the cantaloupe crop. To find out more go to the FDA website here, http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm274091.htm.
Listeria has also been found in California in romaine lettuce where the USDA took a random sample that produced positive results and has issued a recall. Noone has been determined sick by it as of yet. States affected by this recall are Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Vermont.
The recalled bags of chopped romaine were packed in “True Leaf Farms” cardboard cartons. The bags have a “use by date” of 9/29/11 and the bag and box code B256-46438-8.
“We are fully cooperating with the FDA, and we are contacting all of our customers to ensure prompt removal of any product potentially associated with the recall,” said Steve Church, True Leaf Farms. “We are committed to conducting this recall quickly and efficiently to reduce any risk to public health.”
So just how safe is our food supply?
