Outbreaks
Chamberlain Farms Cantaloupe Salmonella Outbreak
In July and August of 2012, at least 261 people became ill with Salmonella serotype Typhimurium infections after eating contaminated cantaloupes produced by Chamberlain Farms Produce, Inc., a farm from Owensville, in southwestern Indiana. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 94 people were hospitalized, and 3 people died as a result of their Salmonella infections.
On August 22, 2012, Chamberlain Farms and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that the farm was recalling all its cantaloupes for potential Salmonella contamination. According to the FDA, records available indicate that Salmonella-contaminated cantaloupes were initially shipped to Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin, although further shipment was likely. The CDC later announced that cantaloupe collected from the farm from August 14-16 tested positive for the same strain of Salmonella Typhimurium as the strain isolated from Salmonella outbreak victims.
Victims of this Salmonella outbreak traced to cantaloupes have been identified in 24 states: Alabama (25), Arkansas (6), Florida (1), Georgia (13), Illinois (36), Indiana (30), Iowa (9), Kentucky (66), Maryland (1), Michigan (8), Minnesota (2), Mississippi (7), Missouri (17), Montana (1), New Jersey (2), North Carolina (5), Ohio (5), Oklahoma (1), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (4), Tennessee (8), Texas (2), Virginia (1), and Wisconsin (9).
