Topic: cantaloupes

When we last covered the recent U.S. outbreak of listeriosis, 27 people were sick, four dead, and the FDA wasn’t yet certain what was causing the illnesses. Since then, they’ve pinpointed the culprit—listeria-tainted cantaloupes from Jensen Farms near Holly, Colorado—and recalled 300,000 cases of the fruit. But officials said yesterday that because listeria has an incubation period of a month or more, people who ate contaminated fruit last week may not become ill until next month—so more cases of listeriosis, and possibly more deaths, are expected. So far, the outbreak has sickened 72 people and resulted in 13 deaths, making this the deadliest listeria outbreak in the past decade. Here’s what you need to know to protect yourself: More »