On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that a total of 141 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium had been reported from 20 states linked to Indiana grown cantaloupe.  The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Alabama (7), Arkansas (3), California (2), Georgia (1), Illinois (17), Indiana (13), Iowa (7), Kentucky (50), Michigan (6), Minnesota (3), Missouri (9), Mississippi (2), New Jersey (1), North Carolina (3), Ohio (3), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (3), Tennessee (6), Texas (1), and Wisconsin (2).  31 ill persons have been hospitalized. Two deaths have been reported in Kentucky.

According to the CDC and FDA an unnamed farm in southwestern Indiana has contacted its distributors, which reach outside Indiana into other states, and is withdrawing its cantaloupe from the market place. The farm has agreed to cease distributing cantaloupes for the rest of the growing season.  As of last night the CDC and FDA also did not name any retail outlets that sold cantaloupe.  This morning, however, Walmart voluntarily began recalling cantaloupe in southwest Indiana.

 “At this point with 141 sick, the public has an absolute right to know where the cantaloupe was grown and where is was sold.  There is simply no excuse that this information is not made available,” said foodborne illness attorney and food safety advocate William Marler. “If the goal of public health is to saves lives, protect people, and save business money through prevention, how does trying to keep the public in the dark accomplish any of these objectives?  By keeping these companies’ names secret, the CDC and FDA may be trying to protect businesses, but is ultimately doing the public a disservice by quashing important data that could otherwise help consumers make informed decisions about what to eat and where to shop.”

Here are a few of the cantaloupe cases that Marler Clark has litigated:

• Del Monte Cantaloupe Salmonella Outbreak Lawsuit – Nationwide (2011)
• Susie Cantaloupe Salmonella Outbreak Lawsuit – Washington (2002)
• Viva Cantaloupe Salmonella Outbreak Lawsuit – Washington, California (2001)
• Jensen Farms Rocky Ford Cantaloupe Listeria Outbreak Lawsuits – Nationwide (2011)