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Cut Melon Cited in Salmonella Outbreak

By Christopher Coble, Esq. on June 21, 2018 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

A salmonella outbreak that spread to 70 cases across seven states has been tied to fruit salad mixes that include pre-cut melons, according to the Food and Drug Administration. At least 34 people have been hospitalized due to the illness, and the FDA is advising consumers to avoid recalled fresh cut watermelon, honeydew melon, and cantaloupe, as well as fruit medley products containing any of these melons.

Scope of the Salmonella Outbreak

The pre-cut melon suspected of causing the salmonella outbreak were sold across 22 states nationwide:

  1. Alabama
  2. Florida
  3. Georgia
  4. Illinois
  5. Indiana
  6. Iowa
  7. Kansas
  8. Kentucky
  9. Maryland
  10. Michigan
  11. Minnesota
  12. Missouri
  13. Nebraska
  14. North Carolina
  15. North Dakota
  16. Ohio
  17. Pennsylvania
  18. South Dakota
  19. Tennessee
  20. Virginia
  21. West Virginia and
  22. Wisconsin

And the affected fruit found its way into Costco, Jay C, Kroger, Payless, Owen's, Sprouts, Trader Joe's, Walgreens, Walmart, and Whole Foods/Amazon. Caito Foods, who initially packaged the melon voluntarily recalled its fruit salad mixes containing pre-cut melons. The FDA says it's been working with the Centers for Disease Control and state agencies to trace the pre-cut melons to hopefully identify the source and the route of the contamination.

FDA and Info

You can see a complete list of recalled products on the FDA's data sheet, along with where the possibly tainted fruit was sold. The FDA is advising consumers to discard any recalled products and, if consumers experience symptoms of salmonella infection, to contact their health care provider immediately.

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