As of December 1, there have been 66 laboratory-confirmed cases of Salmonella Soahanina, Sundsvall and Oranienburg illness linked to this outbreak in the following provinces: British Columbia (13), Ontario (13), Quebec (35), Prince Edward Island (2), New Brunswick (1), and Newfoundland and Labrador (2). Additional Salmonella infections are under investigation and more illnesses associated with this outbreak may be confirmed. Individuals became sick between mid-October and mid-November 2023. Nineteen individuals have been hospitalized. One death has been reported. Individuals who became ill are between 0 to 100 years of age. The majority of the individuals who became sick are children 5 years of age or younger (39%), or adults 65 years of age or older (39%). Half of the cases (50%) are male.
CFIA issued food recall warnings on November 1, November 14 and November 17 for Malichita brand cantaloupes sold between October 11 and November 14, 2023. On November 24, 2023, CFIA updated the food recall warning to also include Rudy brand cantaloupes sold between October 10 and November 24, 2023. Additional secondary recalls have been issued for products that were made using recalled cantaloupes and for produce items that were processed alongside recalled cantaloupes.
Through the CFIA investigation the outbreak strains of Salmonella that made people sick were found in samples of the recalled Malichita brand cantaloupe.
More recent illnesses may be reported in the outbreak because there is a period between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported to public health officials. For this outbreak, the illness reporting period is between 2 and 4 weeks.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued food recall warnings on November 1, November 14 and November 17 for Malichita brand cantaloupes sold between October 11 and November 14, 2023. On November 24, 2023, CFIA updated the food recall warning to also include Rudy brand cantaloupes sold between October 10 and November 24, 2023. The recalled products were distributed in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and possibly other provinces and territories. Additional secondary recalls have been issued for products that were made using recalled cantaloupes and for produce items that were processed alongside recalled cantaloupes. This includes other fruit like honeydew, pineapple, watermelon and various fruit trays.