How Do You Make Cantaloupes Drip, Drip, Drip
We have to wonder if the food industry and its regulators are in cahoots with one another to make recalls as confusing as possible in order to get the public to just stop paying attention.
In the last week, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has put out company press releases for Charlie’s Produce, T.M. Kovacevich International Inc., JARD Marketing Corp. Simply Fresh Fruit, Bounty Fresh, Chiquita Brands International, Dole Fresh Fruit, and Spokane Produce all doing the same thing: recalling Honduran cantaloupe.
Cantaloupe grown and packed by Agropecuaria Montelibano has been found to be responsible for an outbreak of Salmonella Litchfield in the United States and Canada. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration issued an “import alert” on 03/22/08 naming Honduran cantaloupe as the source of the outbreak.
We did not at the get-go get a list of brand labels, including the well known ones like Chiquita and Dole, that import the Honduran cantaloupe. Why, since we presume Agropecuaria Montelibano is licensed to import to the U.S, could it be required to give up its list of customers so consumers and retailers could know in a quick and efficient manner? Why, indeed.
Maybe the Dole’s and Chiquita’s of the world think that a few more hours of having their products sold the public helps them offset the huge recall costs. Consumers hearing vague information about a recall of imported fruit probably do what we do ---stop buying any imports for a while. (“Were those blueberries on the same boat as those Salmonella-tainted cantaloupe?”)
In the better late than never category, FDA now has a Consolidated List: U.S. Importers and Food Manufacturers That Received Cantaloupe from Agropecuaria Montelibano Go here for that.
Meanwhile, 50 people in 16 states are sick with this Litchfield strain of salmonella. Fourteen of the victims were sent to hospitals so far. None of yet died.
Eight years ago, it was E. coli O157: H7 in Walkerton's water that eventually led to seven deaths and 2,500 residents and visitors getting sick. The number getting sick from salmonella in Alamosa is approaching 300 and ten have had to be admitted to hospitals. Most who made ill are teenagers and younger.
salmonella-tainted cantaloupes usually imports fruits from Costa Rica.
More recently, Columbine High School in Jefferson County, west of Denver, was the site of the most tragic high school killing spree in U.S. history. Since then, Jefferson County has become a lot better at emergency management. Its SWAT teams went to another county a couple years ago when another gunman took over a high school.
FROM ALAMOSA, CO --- Residents woke up this morning to learn they have about 72 hours before the town begins flushing a high amount of chlorine through its public water system.
FROM ALAMOSA, CO---This town of 9,000, including Colorado's Adams State College, was declared to in a state of emergency today (3/21/08) by Gov. Bill Ritter due to the salmonella outbreak that may be related to the public water supply.
clear signal that might take a week or two. This is what Adams State told students:
Kowalke Family Sprouts Inc., which distributes through Farmer's Markets, Whole Foods and Gelson's Supermarkets, is recalling all its alfalfa sprout products because the seeds used to grow them were found to be contaminated with Salmonella.
DENVER--The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Wednesday has ordered the city of Alamosa to issue a bottled water advisory for Alamosa residents due to an outbreak of Salmonella in the community. Area residents and visitors are advised to immediately stop using tap water from the city’s water system for drinking and cooking and to begin using bottled water until further notice. 
Colorado. The town of about 8,500 is reporting 18 confirmed cases of salmonella and 21 other cases that are still pending test results.
You Yangs, the dual peaks rising up down under, are experiencing a flash back to World War II thanks to a $200 million HBO mini series project under the careful direction of Steven Spielberg.
The products, sold in 2 pound and 5 pound boxes with Best Before dates of FEB 08 09 H through FEB 16 09 H stamped on the top, contain the following UPC codes: 
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, several illnesses have been reported across the state, including one in Contra Costa County and two in San Francisco. Two manufacturers voluntarily recalled their products from grocery stories and wholesale distributors, officials said. 
