Raley’s grocers is recalling 1,120 cartons of Del Monte cantaloupe sold in Northern California and Nevada after routine testing detected salmonella in some of the produce, according to the California Department of Public Health.

The cantaloupe was sold throughout the San Francisco Bay Area at Raley’s and its subsidiaries, Nob Hill Foods and Food Source.

The cantaloupes were purchased between Oct. 5 and Friday, and consumers can exchange the recalled fruit for a full refund.

Salmonella is a bacterium that causes one of the most common enteric (intestinal) infections in the United States – Salmonellosis. In some states (e.g. Georgia, Maryland), salmonellosis is the most commonly reported cause of enteric disease, and overall it is the second most common bacterial foodborne illness reported (usually slightly less frequent than Campylobacter infection).

The reported incidence of Salmonella illnesses is about 14 cases per each 100,000 persons (MMWR Weekly, 2006), amounting to approximately 30,000 confirmed cases of salmonellosis yearly in the U.S. (CDC, 2005, October 13). In 2005, just over 36,000 cases were reported from public health laboratories across the nation, representing a 12 percent decrease compared with the previous decade, but a 1.5 percent increase over 2004 (CDC, 2007).