The Listeria Outbreak Highlights Why We Need a Single Food Agency

There are a dozen-plus recommendations for avoiding tainted cantaloupes. How about we build a food safety system that actually works?


Are you as puzzled about the latest cantaloupe outbreak as I am? This time it's listeria again (see previous post on this particular pathogen).

According to the CDC, 72 people have been infected with the strains of listeria associated with the outbreak in 18 states. Most appalling, 13 people have died.




Why cantaloupe? They are, after all, grown in dirt and their skin is rough, textured, and has plenty of places for bacteria to hide. People pick up listeria by handling the fruit and cutting into it. FDA's information page lists the recalls and press releases on the Jenson Farms outbreak.

The FDA's advice: throw it out.

Do not try to wash the harmful bacteria off the cantaloupe as contamination may be both on the inside and outside of the cantaloupe. Cutting, slicing, and dicing may also transfer harmful bacteria from the fruit's surface to the fruit's flesh.


  • Blot with paper towels to remove excess water.
  • Put melon on a clean surface, one that hasn't come into contact with meat or poultry or other foods that could cause cross-contamination.
  • Don't use dish soap or detergent; cantaloupes can absorb detergent residues.
  • Melon that isn't eaten should be peeled, covered, and refrigerated.
  • Discard any melon that has been at room temperature for longer than two hours, or one hour when the temperatures are over 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

What? No HazMat suit?

We are talking about cantaloupes here.

How about a food safety system where everyone makes sure -- and tests -- that listeria don't get on cantaloupe in the first place.

Single food agency anyone?

Image: REUTERS/Jeff Topping.


This post also appears on Food Politics.