Which pathogen prompted the 2011 recall of cantaloupes from Jensen Farms in Colorado?

Listeria monocytogenes prompted the 2011 recall of cantaloupes from Jensen Farms in Colorado.

Jensen Farms recalled cantaloupes after the fruit was linked to a deadly multistate listeriosis outbreak in the United States. The outbreak strain was Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that can survive and multiply in refrigerated conditions. Contaminated melons were distributed widely, so the recall expanded beyond the farm’s immediate customers.

Investigators identified several sanitation and equipment problems at the packing facility. The outbreak caused illnesses in many states and was especially serious for older adults, pregnant people, newborns and those with weakened immune systems. Listeriosis can cause invasive illness, including bloodstream infection and meningitis.

This recall is sometimes confused with the better-known Salmonella outbreaks associated with raw produce. The defining organism here was Listeria, and the implicated food was whole cantaloupe from Jensen Farms, not all cantaloupes sold in the country.