Cantaloupe warning for North and West Canada

Fears of salmonella contamination have prompted the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to warn consumers in western and northern Canada not to eat certain brands of cantaloupes.

The cantaloupes, which were imported from the United States, were sold under the Llano and Nature's Partner brand names between Nov. 7 and 18. They were sold in Safeway and other grocery stores in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Yukon and Northwest Territories, the government agency reported.

The CFIA is advising consumers who are not sure if they have bought the purchased cantaloupes to make sure at the place of purchase. Safeway stores in Calgary are voluntarily recalling the affected fruit. The warning comes days after Arizona-based Rio Vista Ltd. announced it would be voluntarily recalling its Llano and Nature's Partner brand cantaloupes.

More than 62,000 cartons of cantaloupes were distributed in the U.S. and a small quantity went to Canada from October 31 to November 6, 2006, according to an advisory released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It's unclear exactly how many cartons were shipped to Canada.

The cantaloupes were distributed for sale in cardboard cartons that each contained between 6 and 15 cantaloupes. The fruit in question is described as straw-coloured on the outside, with orange flesh on the inside. California-based Timco Worldwide Inc. made a similar announcement that same week, saying it would be recalling its Sundia brand cantaloupe.

The recall was a result of the FDA's routine sampling program on October 30, 2006, which revealed that a portion of the finished products contained the bacteria. The FDA and Timco Worldwide are investigating what led to the contamination.

Salmonella, responsible for about 15 per cent of all cases of food poisoning, is most often linked to poultry and food containing eggs. It is an organism that causes symptoms such as fever, headaches, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea and long-term complications may include severe arthritis.

Among the very young, elderly, or those with weakened immune systems, salmonellosis can cause serious or deadly infections. No one has reported falling ill from eating affected cantaloupes.

The CFIA warning comes more than a week after fears of salmonella contamination drove chocolate-maker Hershey to recall a wide variety of its chocolate bars and candies made at its Smiths Falls, Ont. plant.

The company has since determined that a soy ingredient used in making the chocolate was the source of the contamination.

Source