April 7, 2008: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has completed the on site component of the investigation of cantaloupes in The Republic of Honduras.
HHS dispatched a multidisciplinary team, which consisted of experts from both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from within the department, to Honduras for about a week to investigate a Honduran packer and grower of cantaloupes, Agropecuaria Montelíbano.
Epidemiological and trace-back investigations performed in the United States between February and March of this year indicated that the current salmonellosis outbreak, in which 51 illnesses were reported in 16 states since January, was associated by the consumption of cantaloupes exported by Agropecuaria Montelíbano.
The HHS team worked with Honduran government officials to evaluate the company’s growing fields and packing houses, and collected environmental samples during the course of the investigation. The samples are currently undergoing analysis at an FDA lab in the United States, and the agency is currently evaluating all of the evidence associated with this investigation.
Results of the investigation should assist Agropecuaria Montelibano in identifying and implementing additional pathogen-control measures needed to ensure that its produce meets U.S. standards for food safety.
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