Recall of the Week: Expanded recall of cantaloupes by Burch Equipment, with the addition of honeydew melons
August 19, 2012
Photo: Luigi Riganese
North Carolina-based Burch Equipment is expanding its recall to include all of this growing season's cantaloupes and honeydew melons that may remain on the market because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
No illnesses have been reported to date, Burch Equipment said in a statement.
A red label reading Burch Farms with PLU # 4319 identifies the whole cantaloupes. Burch Farms grew all cantaloupes involved in the recall, however, some of the cantaloupes may have been identified with a "Cottle Strawberry Inc." sticker with PLU #4319. Cottle Strawberry Inc. didn’t grow or process the cantaloupe involved in this recall, the company said.
Cantaloupes from Burch Farms were shipped in corrugated boxes, nine cantaloupe per case, and in bulk bins.
Honeydew melons involved in this recall expansion don’t bear any identifying stickers and were packed in cartons labeled melons, Burch Farms said.
Consumers who may have purchased these honeydew melons should contact the store where they purchased the melons for information about whether those melons are part of this recall.
The cantaloupes and honeydew melons involved in this expanded recall were sold to distributors between June 23 and July 27 in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, Vermont, and West Virginia. The melons may have further been distributed to retail stores, restaurants, and food service facilities in other states."
Burch Equipment is requesting any consumer that may have one of these cantaloupes or honeydews to discard the product.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services are working with Burch Equipment following a cantaloupe testing positive for Listeria monocytogenes in a random sample.
This recall expansion is based on FDA's finding of Listeria monocytogenes on a honeydew melon grown and packed by Burch.
Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, the infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths in pregnant women. The incubation period, the length of time between consuming a product and becoming ill, for Listeria monocytogenes can be one to three weeks, but may be in the range of three to 70 days.
For more information on the expanded recall, call Burch Equipment at 910-267-5781 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or email [email protected].
For details on other recalls, see www.recalls.gov.
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