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Ed Andrieski / AP file
Produce manager Nate Codina arranges a display of Rocky Ford cantaloupes at a Kings Soopers market in Denver last week. The new crop is out, just as health officials confirm a new strain linked to last year's deadly listeria outbreak.
A previously unidentified strain of listeria from last year’s deadly cantaloupe outbreak has been linked to the death of a 75-year-old Montana man, even as the new crop of Colorado melons fills store shelves.
The new strain was collected from cut cantaloupe in a home refrigerator last September, at the start of the listeria outbreak that eventually sickened 146 people and led to at least 30 deaths and one miscarriage. But Colorado health officials didn’t send the sample to federal officials for 10 months because it didn’t match strains from any known victims in that state.
“We didn’t look more broadly,” said Alicia Cronquist, an epidemiologist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
When they finally did send it to the federal PulseNet monitoring program last month, it turned out to be identical to a rare strain of listeria detected in a Montana victim who died in January.
That increases the number of strains in the 28-state outbreak to five, up from the four strains responsible for most of the illnesses, said Dr. Benjamin Silk, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It also adds the elderly Bozeman man to the CDC’s roster of cases, bringing the tally to 147, though it’s not yet clear whether his death can be counted in the total.
“We know that the patient had the outbreak strain,” said Silk, who confirmed that the man ate contaminated cantaloupe. “What they’re looking into now is whether the cause of death was from the listeria infection.”
Montana health officials should learn this week whether listeria killed the man outright or whether another disease or illness was responsible, said Jim Murphy, chief of the state’s communicable disease bureau.
Rocky Ford cantaloupes back in stores
The first cantaloupes from Colorado’s famed Rocky Ford growing region have just appeared in local produce aisles last week after safety upgrades that totaled between $800,000 and $1 million, said spokeswoman Diane Mulligan, who represents a coalition of 15 area growers.
“The cantaloupe hit the shelves on Friday,” said Mulligan, noting that King Soopers grocery stores were swamped by demand. “I can’t get any.”
Those growers are hoping to overcome the damage caused by Jensen Farms, the Holly, Colo., grower responsible for the outbreak, one of the deadliest in U.S. history. Faulty growing, processing and storage conditions and dirty equipment led to the problems, government health officials concluded.
The new safety measures adopted by the Rocky Ford Growers Association include specialized washing, disinfectant and cooling procedures, as well as tracking that monitors the melons from seed to store, Mulligan said.
“They’ve basically taken the utmost safety precautions and are adhering to the stringent processes that are out there,” she added.
Delayed reporting of the new strain of listeria could have missed other victims, Cronquist, the Colorado epidemiologist, said.
“There’s always a concern that there were others who were sickened by this strain who were not identified,” she said.
The move was prompted only after a food safety lawyer requested state health records related to another cantaloupe victim. Patti Waller, an epidemiologist who works for Marler Clark, the Seattle firm, brought the strain to the lab’s attention, Cronquist confirmed. The situation was first reported in Marler Clark's Food Safety News blog.
Waller had been investigating the case of Isaak Margolin, a 97-year-old Colorado man who was sickened by one of the four previously identified outbreak strains of listeria last fall, health records showed. Samples of whole cantaloupe and cut cantaloupe from Margolin’s refrigerator included two other strains confirmed in the outbreak.
But one additional strain of listeria was isolated from cut cantaloupe in Margolin’s refrigerator -- and later identified in the Montana man who died.
Colorado officials have changed their protocol for sending samples to the CDC in the wake of the incident, said Cronquist.
“Our lab will post all isolates, not just those in confirmed victims,” she said.
Related stories on Vitals:
- Dirty equipment blamed for deadly outbreak in cantaloupe
- Final tally on cantaloupe crisis: 146 sick; 30 dead
- Consumers couldn't have washed away cantaloupe contamination
Leave a Comment:
Wash melons before cutting them. You cannot know what happens between the field and your kitchen counter.
The Newsvine story from October, 2011 indicates that surface washing could not prevent the outbreak of listeria that killed up to 30 people last fall. It was a complete failure to follow safe handling procedures by the grower that allowed listeria to thrive on or in the fruit. You have to read the article...
You ever seen a cantaloupe?
This is good evidence for having a centralized (federal) database.
There's no way to track and control these outbreaks if every state does its own testing and database creation - you just end up with a fragmented picture of what's going on.
And state regulators are too easy to buy off - if the commodity in question is important to your state's economy, state regulators too often are under political pressure not to see problems.
That's why giant corporations fight for state control of their industries - state guys are cheaper to influence than federal.
Amen. I get really sick of people who can't be bothered to use safe food handling practices in their homes and the bitch because they got sick. I like how this article fails to mention that Jensen Farms isn't/wasn't a Rocky Ford grower and that the Rocky Ford Grower's Association has banned anyone from selling their fruit under the name "Rocky Ford" unless the fruit is actually grown in the Rocky Ford Valley. Of course, then they wouldn't have been able to put as much of a dark and dangerous spin on it and rile up all the sheeple who don't wash their produce...
The farm last year was investigated after the deaths and found to be a virtual cesspool of filth. Classic case of the owners living high by cutting corners and refusing to spend a nickle on common safe handling practices. OF course we see in this article that all those PhD's were making assumptions of convenience that allowed them to avoid doing the work. Question everything ! Question everybody ! Make people accountable. Alas.......... we'll never learn.
Washing doesn't always work see below
I don't believe it. If the contamination came from equipment, it was on the surface.
People are inherently stupid. It's amazing how many people don't wash their produce or meats. This is my main reason for not eating at other people's houses or restaurants. It's Too Gross to think about.
Even organic produce needs to be washed. Bugs, rats, mice, etc contaminate from farm to home. Only buy whole pieces of produce & whole meats. Any processing exposes you to contamination. Ground meats are the worst.
And YES! GSE is super for soaking & cleaning all foods. Anti-bacterial, viral, fungal & parasitic. Plus one can drink it to kill anything you have ingested.
I am afraid to even eat a cantalope I bought while obviously feeling adverturous...it is still sitting in my fridge. What to do...what to do...
JB please realize that everything, from a cantaloupe rind to our own skin, is porous. Bacteria are wonderfully tricky little bugs, having the ability to permeate other organisms' cell membranes! "It was on the surface" is a simplified and dangerous view of the problem.
the problem is the immigrant workers defecating in the fields and not properly washing their hands. unfortunately that is how they live in their third world nations.
Hey, you don't know if that store or restaurant worker washed their hands after a restroom visit. Safest bet is prepare & eat at home.
Sure there are laws but, it's a honor system.
Of course US citizens never walk by the sink that is right there in front of them.
Years ago I listened to a radio news interview about the lack of porta potties and tanks of drinkable water in the fields.
Seems like if people are pooping out in the open, it's because there's no where else they can go, especially if the toilet just isn't there, or all stashed too far away in one tiny area.
"The workers would stay in them," the grower whined when asked why they weren't placed around where field workers could get to them. (As if field workers were as comfortable about being in a porta potty as much as insurance agents are in the office bathroom.)
Treat people like humans and they'll act like humans.
I don't know how human the grower was, but he sure wasn't humane.
OMG Boomer, how did I know that some ignorant fool would place the blame on immigrants. It sounds like the problem was with the company and their bad practices, it says that in the story. Keep racist comments out of this. I guarantee you that many people that work in our restaurants and fast food places have bad habits of not washing their hands.
Remember "The Pie" episode on Seinfeld?
Listeria does not colonize the human intestinal tract. Therefore this outbreak was not caused by "immigrant workers pooping in fields". Quit trying to stir the pot.
No idea what GSE is. For decades I've been washing all our fresh produce with diluted liquid detergent and a few drops of bleach, then I rinse it well under running water. So far so good, no problems, however, I'm not feeling lucky enough to put cantalope on the grocery list again this year.
Curiously, Colorado officials knew of a fourth strain of listeria but didn't tell anyone because...well, see ummm, we don't want to hurt our farmers, no, no ummm, we didn't think it had made anyone sick... What? Is this a joke? They were aware of an as yet unknown listeria strain linked to an outbreak of illness and deaths and they kept the knowledge to themselves?
U R right. Can you say gubmint employee ? sure you can. How many times do we have to read articles of trouble and waste happening and gubmint employees are at the root of it. Over, and over and over. It just keeps happening.
@ NB8
AMEN !!!
And we are supposed to eat healthy? Sure, I could lose about 5 lbs, but getting sick from listeria is not the way I want to do it. Seems like we're damned if we do and damned if we don't. That's why I take probiotics every day.
It is of no comfort to me that there is a (state) government agency that's as stupid about stuff as I am.
LMAO, I like your style Babs, well said. That is why we can't even trust eating anything anymore.
Babs, You made me laugh out loud! Too bad I am in the business of buying food... It scares me to think of just how callous and stupid trained professionals can be...
I can't believe that they cut those animals in to little pieces and mailed them to random people.. What kind of perverse thrill could one get from something so demented?
What? What are you reading?
I am a huge supporter of ABC (Always Buy Colorado) but I am not going to buy a cantaloupe this year. Paranoid? Yup. Sorry, Rocky Ford. And they always have had the best cantaloupes. With no health insurance I cannot take the chance.
I love love love cantelope! Oh dear i know i spellled it wrong! I could eat that till I look like one, loool! But! When that happened last year i havent eaten any since! Im too scared to take a chance! I have diversticulitis! It would kill me if i got lysteria! I always washed them off real good! Please dont laugh, but i use a small brush some water and ivory soap on the outside of the cantalopes! I scrub them well! But that wont help proctect you from whats inside them! Its scarey, you are afraid to eat anything anymore! You may DIE!
Truth is, these bugs are all around. Its unfortunate but the truth. Boil all your food in acid, but be sure the acid is not contaminated. Watch out for the odd Raccoon attack, icicles falling off the eaves, Black widow spiders in the pantry, and any food processed by undocumented workers. Not to be scary, but we will all die of something. Enjoy life.
Rocky Ford cantaloupes? ....... Yum!
Yes we all must die of something but listeria sounds like a slow, ugly death. I feel bad for Rocky Ford. Now what can go wrong with the Olathe corn crop? Hopefully nothing except it is burning up.
Yes, these growers are trying very hard to overcome the bad press that just about killed their business last year, and so now you publish an article like this, which is OLD news, just to get a little sensationalist bang for your company. The bad melons came from one grower, now out of busienss, who misappropriated someone else's very popular name to market his crop, pretty much screwed the innocent original producer(s), who have since put in place enough safeguards they should be bankrupt by now. You would think we would be allowed to forget this sad episode. But Nooooooo, you had to raise the subject again just as this year's crop hits the stores. You buzzkill!
Do you, like, grow cantaloupe or something?
Haven't you all noticed that everything is alot dirtier than it used to be? Much produce has little black specs and other detritus that I can identify as parasite eggs and larvae. Once the filth is in the field it follows the product. And most people are unaware that fertilizers are often encased in chitin products to pelletize them and they are probably genetically engineered with genes of who knows what as neither the companies nor the government will tell us. We have lost control of our food supply and the foxes are in charge of the henhouse.
Oh the true cost of using migrant and illegal immigrants to harvest our nations food. Nice.
So I take it this comes under the "It never occurred to us to pull our head out of our ass" category.....makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over....
Wonder what caused them to send it in...after 10 months. Not part of thier protocall...so what was new? Just too much time on their hands....got bored and just sent it in for the fun of it? The article should have explained that point....
George W. was right. Terrorists walked that Listeria right across our Southern border. Though, he could be wrong, it might be Canadians or maybe hippies. Yeah that's it, pot smoking hippies made it happen.
Is it so hard to just stop eating cantaloupe.
I caught that listeria last year from a cantaloupe. I remember being warned about it, but i had this beautiful looking cantaloupe, and I sat down and ate the whole thing. It took about 3 or 4 days, and I got constipated. I then went to the drug store and bought a package of laxatives. It took about another 4 or 5 days before I got rid of it. If you catch it, don't go to far from the bathroom for a couple of days because you'll have this yellow looking diarrhea that you can't control. You don't need to go to a doctor. Just get some laxatives.
As a cashier at Walmart this concerns me. I love cantaloupe but my budget doesn't allow me to have a lot of it. Lately it's been very cheap. 1.50 a piece, and they smell and look good. As of today the price just went down again. 1.30 something. What's up Walmart?