After almost 20 years – yes, it has been that long since the Jack in the Box E. coli O157:H7 outbreak – a few years ago I started loosing track of the number of foodborne illness outbreaks. That is why we developed the Foodborne Illness Outbreak Database.
The database has come in handy to track just how often cantaloupes – and other foods – have caused problems. Here is a sample platter of outbreaks linked to cantaloupe with links to citations (Download as PDF):
No. |
Year |
State(s) |
Confirmed Illnesses |
Pathogen |
Description |
1. |
1985 |
Wisconsin |
16 |
||
2. |
1990 |
30 States |
245 |
||
3. |
1991 |
International, including U.S. |
400 |
||
4. |
1997 |
California |
24 |
||
5. |
1998 |
Ontario, Canada |
22 |
||
6. |
1999 |
Iowa |
61 |
||
7. |
2000 |
California, Oregon, Colorado, Washington, New Mexico, Nevada |
47 |
||
8. |
2001 |
California, Arizona, New York, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Georgia, Nevada |
50 |
||
9. |
2002 |
California, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon, Arkansas, Vermont, Washington, Nevada, Texas |
58 |
||
10. |
2003 |
New York, Ohio, New Mexico, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Missouri |
58 |
Day care center and private homes, cantaloupe/honeydew melon |
|
11. |
2006 |
Multi-State and International |
41 |
||
12. |
2007 |
California |
11 |
||
13. |
2008 |
15 States |
53 |
||
14. |
2008 |
California |
23 |
||
15. |
2011 |
11 States |
20 |
||
16. |
2011 |
28 States |
147 |
||
17. |
2012 |
20 States |
141 |