Cantaloupes distributed by an Arizona-based produce company are being recalled due to a potential salmonella contamination, according to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration announcement published last week.
Sofia Produce, which operates under the brand name Trufresh, is recalling all sizes of fresh cantaloupes packaged in cardboard containers and sold between Oct. 16 and Oct. 23.
The impacted cantaloupes were distributed to stores in Arizona, California, Maryland, New Jersey, Tennessee, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Texas, Florida and outside the U.S. to Canada.
No illnesses have been reported, according to the FDA.
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The cantaloupe's have their own PLU sticker on each fruit, with the word “Malichita" on the top half of the sticker and the number “4050” and "Product of Mexico/produit du Mexique" prominently displayed in white letters.
Consumers who purchased the cantaloupes should not eat or serve them, and are urged to throw them away or return them to their place of purchase.
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The FDA described salmonella as “an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.”
Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, fever higher than 102 degrees Fahrenheit, stomach cramps, excessive vomiting and signs of dehydration. Symptoms can start six hours and up to six days after ingesting the bacteria.
In most cases, people recover without medical care after four to seven days. Some people – especially children younger than 5 years old, adults 65 years and older, and people with weakened immune systems – may experience more severe illnesses that require medical treatment or hospitalization.
Every year, salmonella causes about 1.35 million illnesses, 26,500 hospitalizations, and 420 deaths in the United States, according to the CDC.
