California has had 73 cases of Salmonella Braenderup, and 67% of those people reported that they ate mangoes. Washington State has had six cases of Salmonella Braenderup that match the genetic fingerprint of the Canadian cases but has not yet linked them directly to the Mexican mangoes. Canada reports that mangoes are linked to 22 infections in Canada with Salmonella Braenderup.

Past Mago Problems:

Brazilian Mangoes 1999:  A nationwide outbreak of a single strain of Salmonella Newport sickened 78 and was associated with the consumption of imported mangoes. The implicated mangoes were traced back to a single Brazilian farm. Salmonella and E. coli were isolated from water and other environmental samples of the farm. Water treatment was identified as a possible source of contamination. The mangoes destined for the US market were dipped in hot water, then cool water, a procedure that may have caused Salmonella on the surface of the fruit to be drawn inside. The hot dip water was not chlorinated. The cool dip water was chlorinated once a week; chlorine levels were not monitored. The mangoes were coated in wax mixed with chlorinated water. The farm also shipped mangoes to Europe. These mangoes did not receive the same hot/cold water bath treatment; the mangoes did not lead to illness in Europe.

Mangoes 2001:  A multistate outbreak, with 26 ill, of Salmonella was associated with the consumption of fresh mangoes. The Salmonella Saintpaul isolates were genetically the same. In processing the mangoes for the US market, the mangoes were given a water treatment that was not likely to be chlorinated adequately. Some of the mangoes originated in Peru. A Salmonella outbreak in 1999 related to mangoes resulted in the USDA recommending chlorination for water treatment of mangoes. Unfortunately these recommendations were not published until 2002 after this outbreak had occurred.

Other Problematic Fruit:

Meanwhile, the second lawsuit against Chamberlain Farms, the grower of cantaloupes in a Salmonella typhimurium outbreak that has sickened 178 nationally, will be filed tomorrow in Michigan state court.  To date, the number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Alabama (13), Arkansas (3), California (2), Georgia (3), Illinois (21), Indiana (18), Iowa (7), Kentucky (56), Massachusetts (2), Michigan (6), Minnesota (4), Mississippi (5), Missouri (12), New Jersey (2), North Carolina (3), Ohio (4), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (3), Tennessee (6), Texas (2), and Wisconsin (4).  62 ill persons have been hospitalized. Two deaths have been reported in Kentucky.