WASHINGTON—Four people are dead and another 35 people in 10 states have been sickened from a multistate outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes that has been officially linked to Jensen Farms’ Rocky Ford-brand cantaloupes that were recalled Sept. 14.
FDA confirmed the presence of Listeria in cantaloupes and environmental samples from a Denver-area store and from the Jensen Farms packing facility in Granada, Colo., after state health officials identified Jensen Farms’ Rocky Ford-brand cantaloupes as the common food eaten by several listeriosis patients. FDA confirmed the Listeria found in the samples matches one of the three different strains of Listeria associated with the multistate outbreak.
Jensen Farms shipped the recalled cantaloupes from July 29, 2011 through Sept. 10, 2011 to at least 17 states with possible further distribution.
Seattle-based food safety law firm Marler Clark filed a lawsuit on Sept. 15 against Jensen Farms Inc. and Wal-Mart in El Paso County District Court on behalf of Charles and Tammy Palmer. Charles Palmer remains hospitalized after eating Listeria-tainted cantaloupe from Jensen Farms that he purchased at Wal-Mart.
