The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to eat cantaloupes from Burch Equipment, a firm based in North Carolina, as they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono).
This warning comes after Burch Equipment issued a recall of 580 cases of whole Athena cantaloupes on 28 July due to L. mono contamination risk.
The recall was issued after cantaloupes from the company tested positive for L. mono following sampling carried out in New York, as part of sampling conducted through the USDA Microbiological Data Program.
FDA noted that the cases of whole cantaloupes were shipped on 15 July, and then distributed to retail stores in New York and Maine.
Consumers who may have cantaloupes with a red label displaying the words Burch Farms and referencing PLU #4319 have been asked to discard them as a precautionary measure. No known illnesses have been reported that are linked to consumption of these cantaloupes.
FDA is currently working jointly with state officials in North Carolina, New York and Maine to investigate the cause and scope of the L. mono contamination and to ensure that all cantaloupes with the potential for L. mono contamination are removed from the market.
Meanwhile, Hannaford Supermarkets, based in Scarborough, Maine, has also warned consumers who purchased Burch Farms cantaloupes from their supermarkets, to not consume these cantaloupes.
Listeriosis, caused by L. mono, is typically characterized by fever and muscle aches, sometimes preceded by diarrhea and other gastrointestinal problems. Older adults, pregnant women, newborns, and adults with weakened immune systems are primarily vulnerable to this disease.
