Cantaloupe Food Safety 1. Not cantaloupes again. Thats what many consumers are saying about the recent back to back news this summer. Fox 5 NY, New York News, Breaking News, weather, sports, traffic, entertainment. Showtime has given a second season renewal order to its new financial drama, Billions, starring Paul Giamatti and Damian Lewis. Outbreak Company Season 2' title='Outbreak Company Season 2' />First it was an all season recall, then a deadly foodborne illness outbreak, both linked to contaminated cantaloupes. It doesnt help that the recall, which was triggered after Listeria was found in a North Carolina farms packing shed and on one of its melons, and the outbreak likely caused by Salmonella found on cantaloupes from an unnamed farm in southwestern Indiana follow last years outbreak caused by Listeria contaminated cantaloupes from a growing region in Colorado. One of the most deadly outbreaks in U. S. Even so, many large retailers said either that they have taken any melons coming from that part of Indiana off their shelves or that they didnt buy any from that growing area. The outbreak was announced on Aug. Bottom line it all comes down to this advice from the U. Original Article. Watch Voyage Of Time: Life`S Journey Putlocker. Outbreak of Salmonellosis Linked to Live Poultry from a MailOrder Hatchery. Gaffga, M. D., M. P. H., Casey Barton Behravesh, D. V. M., Dr. P. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention When in doubt, throw it out. Meanwhile, Burch Farms in North Carolina where investigators found Listeria in the packing shed recalled all of its cantaloupes and honeydew melons earlier this month. It also agreed to extend the recall to its entire growing season. The cantaloupes and honeydew melons involved in this expanded recall were sold to distributors between June 2. July 2. 7 in several states, including FL, GA, IL, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, SC, and VA, VT and WV. FDA said the melons may have been further distributed to retail stores, restaurants and food service facilities in other states. The agency typically does not post a list of retailers who received recalled products, as the U. S. Department of Agriculture often does. Again, as in the Salmonella outbreak, When in doubt, throw it out. The Big Cheese. Last years Listeria outbreak caused by infected cantaloupes ripped through the industry, causing sales to plunge when many consumers decided it wasnt worth the risk. That fiasco had California growers joining together to come up with a plan to ensure that cantaloupes from the Golden State are being grown, packed and shipped according to strict food safety standards. In an unprecedented move, the states cantaloupe growers gave a 1. Going one step further, they also voted in favor of contributing check off funds levied on their cantaloupes to pay for the cost of California Food and Agriculture Department and USDA inspection audits. All of that even though California has never had a foodborne illness outbreak linked to whole cantaloupes. Weve had buyers calling us asking for our cantaloupes, because our state is recognized for the food safety standards the growers are following, said Stephen Patricio, president and CEO of Westside Produce in California and Chairman of the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board. Whats happening in California is important because the state supplies the nation with 8. California cantaloupes go everywhere, said Patricio. Unfortunately, though, its hard to keep labels on cantaloupes due to the netting on the rind. Patricio said that consumers should ask the retailers where the cantaloupes theyre selling were grown. Its a law that the data must be available, he said. Ask them to go in the back where fruit comes into the store and look at the boxes to see where theyre from. This past winter when an international conference focusing on food safety and cantaloupes was held in San Diego, many cantaloupe raisers in growing districts across the nation saw the wisdom of adopting a plan similar to Californias. But strangely enough, said Patricio, the two districts that indicated that the plan didnt apply to them were the Southeastern and the Midwestern districts, the very two districts where the recent outbreak and recall occurred. What Is It With Cantaloupes Trevor Suslow, Extension research specialist in food safety at UC Davis, is quick to say that the recent outbreak and recall arent a cantaloupe problem but rather a handling problem. Thats true for produce in general, he told Food Safety News, pointing out that its the growing, packing, storing, shipping and handling practices that can contaminate fruit and vegetables with pathogens such as Salmonella, E. For the most part, said Suslow, washes dont tend to do much to kill pathogens. But when they tested Bio. Safe Systems. Environmental Protection Agency, according to a company document about the product. Speaking specifically about cantaloupes, Suslows advice is to spray the Sani. Date RTU on a melon and let it set for about 2 minutes. And dont rinse it off. According to information from Bio. Safe, washing all fruits and vegetables before eating is very important. However, just washing with water may not be enough anymore. Unlike other products found in local stores, says the company about Sani. Date RTU, our product not only washes the produce but is also active in killing pathogens. The company also points out that because Sani. Date RTU uses peroxide chemistry, it does not produce any residue, so it does not require any final rinse. The company also recommends using Sani. Date RTU even with produce from homegrown gardens because you never know what plants have been exposed to. The product is available in a 3. Prices vary widely according to where its being sold. Frank Pennington, a technical representative for Bio. Safe, told Food Safety News that the product also extends shelf life because it kills molds and yeasts in addition to pathogens. More Food Safety Tips. Last year during the Listeria outbreak, Food Safety News provided some food safety tips about how to choose, store and prepare cantaloupes. The following is a re run of that advice, with some additional tips thrown in. Whole melons. Because cantaloupes are grown in close contact with the ground, they can occasionally become contaminated with bacteria from the soil, water or animals, according to a University of California publication about safe handling of cantaloupes. In addition, they can be contaminated by human contact during or after harvest. Suslow, one of the authors of the publication, said that consumers should spend some time looking at the cantaloupes in the stores or other places where theyre sold and select those free of blemishes, cuts, sunken areas or mold growth. Keep in mind cantaloupes usually have an area thats a lighter color than the rest of the melon because thats where the melon has been resting on the ground while its been growing. Choose the sound, intact ones, Suslow said. Suslow and Patricio both warn that any nicks or cuts in the rind or any mold on the rind or at the blossom end can be a pathway that pathogens can use to get into the flesh of the melon. Once youve brought the melon home, dont wash it until youre ready to eat it, Suslow said. If its not quite ripe, its fine to keep it on the kitchen counter for a day or two, but, again, dont wash it then or before you put it into the refrigerator. The reason for that, he said, is that cantaloupes are a desert fruit and need to be dry. Wetting them and putting them into the refrigerator can trigger mold. Its also important to remember to wash your hands before and after handling cantaloupe and to always use clean equipment, utensils, and cutting surfaces. If youve kept the cantaloupe on the counter before putting it in the refrigerator, clean the counter once you transfer the melon to the refrigerator. When you put the melon into the refrigerator, dont let it come into contact with other foods. That will ensure that foods such as meat and poultry wont contaminate it or if theres bacteria on the surface of the melon, that the bacteria wont contaminate any of the food in your refrigerator. The best temperature to store a ripe cantaloupe is 3. F 2. 2 to 5 degrees C. To prevent the melon from drying out, the best humidity level is 9. For that reason, the best place to put a cantaloupe is in the refrigerators crisper. Fox 5 NY, New York News, Breaking News, weather, sports, traffic and more.