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Salmonella Outbreak Blamed on Honduran Cantaloupe
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 24, 2008
Modified Mar 24, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 24, 2008
Modified Mar 24, 2008
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The FDA is blaming melons shipped from Honduras for a salmonella outbreak that’s affected at least 50 people in 16 states, including New York. No deaths have been reported yet, but 14 people have been hospitalized and the FDA is telling consumers to check with stores to see where recently purchased melons came from, specifically any from Honduran company Agropecuaria Montelibano.
But the President of Honduras fired back at the FDA yesterday, calling the warning "unjust, extreme and imprudent." He says there have been no salmonella problems in Honduras and criticized the FDA for not releasing data proving the melons are causing the outbreak. And since the melons were contaminated on their peel, not inside, the Honduran trade minister says they could have come in contact with salmonella bacteria after they were shipped.
Honduran agriculture experts are meeting with the FDA today; they say the U.S. will have to compensate Agropecuaria Montelibano if they’re proven wrong. The company ships 2.5 million boxes of cantaloupe to the U.S. every year.
Photo: Solecism.
Tagged
cantaloupe
fda
honduras
new york
salmonella
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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