FDA Letter says Targeting of Cantaloupe Imports to Continue, Urges Industry Best Practices
The Food and Drug Administration will continue to target imported cantaloupes at the border for sampling after two major outbreaks in recent years, it said in a letter to the cantaloupe industry. The letter encouraged the cantaloupe industry to “observe best practices already recognized by FDA and the industry as effective in reducing the risk of harmful contamination,” it said. The outbreaks occurred in 2011 and 2012 as a result of unsanitary conditions at domestic cantaloupe packinghouses, FDA said, and were caused by the bacterial pathogens listeria monocytogenes and salmonella.
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FDA urged the cantaloupe industry to review current operations in the context of its guidance “Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fruits and Vegetables” (here) and its draft guidance “Guidance for Industry: Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards of Melons” (here), which together recommend good agricultural practices and current good manufacturing practices for growers, harvesters, sorters, packers, processors, and shippers of cantaloupes.
Because the outbreaks resulted from domestic problems, FDA also said it will inspect and sample from a “subset” of cantaloupe packinghouses in the U.S.