Melon-linked illness outbreak over, contamination source not found

A 10-state outbreak of Salmonella Carrau illness linked to pre-cut melon products appears to be over, government agencies announced last week.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it will continue to investigate a Caito Foods processing facility that cut and packed melons linked to the outbreak.

The federal agencies earlier conducted a traceback investigation, “examining shipping records to try to identify the specific source” of the recalled melons, but didn’t identify the contamination’s source.

“The FDA investigated distribution and supplier information for these melons; a single source or potential point of contamination was not identified for this outbreak,” according to an FDA statement May 24.

The outbreak of 137 illnesses included 38 hospitalizations. The last illness tied to the outbreak began May 1.