Melon Acres announced the recall of cantaloupes distributed through Farm-Wey Produce of Lakeland, FL due to potential health concerns. The cantaloupes were shipped August 13th and 14th and were identified as 41 MG 10, Bin Numbers 4753-4980. These bins were distributed to Aldi’s in Greenwood, Indiana and Meijer in Lansing, Michigan, Newport, Michigan, and Tipp City, Ohio. The recall was issued following a testing on Tuesday, August 11, 2009 by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that revealed one of a sample of twenty cantaloupes taken by that Agency tested positive for Salmonella. The FDA reported the positive test to Melon Acres on Friday, August 21, 2009.
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.
As of this date, there have been no reports of illness. Further, the FDA and Melon Acres identified the field in which the contaminated sample was grown. No further shipments will be made from the source field. Melon Acres is currently working with the FDA to identify the source of contamination.
Melon Acres sincerely regrets this situation and wishes to assure the public that stringent Food Safety Programs are in place at its shipping locations and fields. On August 7th, Primus Labs, a third party food safety auditing firm specializing in produce, inspected Melon Acres’ fields and facilities regarding its food safety practices. Melon Acres received grades of excellent/good respectively, in this audit.
I attended a teachers conference/workshop at the National Conference Center in Lansdown, VA 3/22 thru 3/26. On the afternoon of 3/25 I became seriously ill with fever, diarrhea, vomiting that lasted until Saturday afternoon. At noon on Friday, I had eaten a bowl of cantaloupe and honeydew melon. I still am having abdominal pain but with medication, things are looking better.