UTAH TECH UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE | March 29, 2024

Tainted Cantaloupe from Colorado Farm Recalled

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The deadliest food-borne illness outbreak in over a decade has claimed the lives of 13 people.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the first reports of the tainted cantaloupe were reported on September 12. The fruit was said to be contaminated by the bacteria listeria monocytogenes

Initially, 15 people in four states were reported infected. The cantaloupe was traced back to the Colorado produce company Rocky Ford Cantaloupes, grown at Jensen Farms in Granada. 

The numbers of illnesses have continued to climb. According to the CDC on Monday, the numbers were up to 72 illnesses, and 13 deaths throughout 18 states. 

The deaths have occurred in eight different states, including Colorado, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Jensen Farms voluntarily recalled the cantaloupes shipped to 17 states between July 29 and September 10. Utah was one of the states from which the cantaloupes were recalled. 

According to the CDC the last time there was an outbreak this big was in 1998, when 21 people died after consuming tainted hot dogs.