Listeria: FDA IDs potential factors in cantaloupe outbreak

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has identified why whole cantaloupes sold by Colorado grower Jensen Farms became contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes: “poor sanitary” practices in a packing facility.

The FDA said it conducted an environmental assessment at Jensen Farms on Sept. 22-23, and inspectors found that bacteria may have originated in cantaloupe fields or on a truck parked near the packing facility. The bacteria then probably proliferated in the packing facility, where pooled water near equipment and walkways and might have promoted growth, the agency said.

The facility was constructed in a way that made it difficult to clean, the FDA said. Also, it reported, Jensen Farms did not engage in a “pre-cooling step” to remove field heat from the cantaloupes before they went to cold storage. Condensation that formed on the melons as a result also may have promoted bacteria growth.

“FDA’s findings regarding this particular outbreak highlight the importance for firms to employ good agricultural and management practices in their packing facilities as well as in growing fields,” the agency said.

The FDA sent a warning letter to Jensen Farms on Tuesday. On receipt of the letter, the grower has 15 days to take corrective action or, if the process will take more time, alert the FDA of its plans.

As of Monday, the contaminated fruit had sickened at least 123 people in 26 states, killing 25 and causing a miscarriage in one pregnant woman, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

Jensen Farms voluntarily recalled the fruit on Sept. 14, but because up to two months can go by between eating contaminated food and developing listeriosis, the CDC warns that new cases may continue to appear.

This is one of the largest outbreaks of listeriosis in U.S. history, the FDA said.

The CDC has published a recent update on the multi-state listeriosis outbreak.