SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Health officials say a salmonella outbreak linked to pre-cut melon has sickened 60 people in five Midwestern states.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says Caito Foods recalled pre-cut watermelon, honeydew melon, cantaloupe and fruit medleys containing at least one of those melons that were produced at its facility in Indianapolis.
The five states where people were sickened are Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio.
Consumers who became ill said they ate pre-cut cantaloupe, watermelon, or fruit salad mix that contained melon. Most of them bought their pre-cut melon at Walmart or Kroger stores.
The CDC says the fruit was also distributed to stores in Georgia, Kentucky, and North Carolina, where it was sold in clear plastic clamshell containers at Costco, Jay C, Payless, Owen's, Sprouts, Trader Joe's, Walgreens, Whole Foods/Amazon.
Officials say purchasers. should throw away or return the recalled products. This advice from the CDC does not apply to whole melons, only to pre-cut melon and fruit salad mixes containing melon.
The CDC says 31 of the people sickened have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported. Those sickened often develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after eating the contaminated food, with the illness lasting 4 to 7 days.