Melons Recalled From Stores in Over 20 States After Salmonella Outbreak

Pre-cut melons sold at grocery stores like Trader Joe’s, Walmart, Kroger and Coscto were recalled Thursday due to another salmonella outbreak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a new notification on its site Thursday, announcing that Caito Foods, LLC announced a recall on pre-cut watermelon, honeydew melon, cantaloupe and fruit medley products packaged with melons from their facilities in Indianapolis.

The products are sold in clear, plastic containers and should not be eaten. The recalled products can be returned for a refund at the store they were purchased, or should be thrown away.

The FDA also published a list of stores that received the recalled melon products. The products were shipped to supermarkets in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Click Here to See the Full List

The products were sold at Coscto, Jay C, Payless, Owen’s, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, Walgreens, Kroger and Whole Foods stores in those states.

According to the CDC, preliminary results from an investigation into a salmonella outbreak in Missouri, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio showed a link to the pre-cut melon products from Caito Foods. Sixty people were reported to be infected in those five states, and 31 people were hospitalized. There have been no deaths reported.

This is just the latest food health scare in recent weeks.

This week, the Kellogg Company announced a voluntary recall of Honey Smacks cereal due to salmonella contamination. Seventy-three people in 31 states got sick after eating the cereal, and 24 people were hospitalized. The company said the recalled packages have “best used by” dates between June 14, 2018 and June 14, 2019. The recall affects 15.3 oz. boxes with the UPC code 38000 39103 and 23 oz. boxes with the UPC code 38000 14810.

Last month, a nationwide E.coli outbreak was linked to romaine lettuce. On June 1, the CDC said the outbreak was responsible for five deaths out of 197 cases in 35 states.

The outbreak was linked to greens growing in the Yuma region distributed in prepared bagged salads. However, the Washington Post reports inmates in an Alaskan prison became sick after eating whole-head lettuce, leaving even FDA officials confused about the origin.

The 2018 outbreak was the worst since 2006, when five people died and 205 others became ill after they got E.coli from baby spinach.

In May, the FDA traced a salmonella outbreak to eggs sold in Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. This outbreak led to 45 cases in 10 states, but no deaths.

According to CBS News, some of the symptoms of salmonella poisoning include nausea, diarrhea, bloody stool, abdominal pain, vomiting, fever, headache, chills and muscle pains.

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