FDA lifts import ban for Del Monte cantaloupe

The Food and Drug Administration has lifted an import ban on cantaloupe grown in Guatemala by Del Monte Fresh Produce. The melon had been linked to a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella poisoning earlier this year.

According to The New York Times, the FDA acted to lift the ban in the face of a lawsuit filed by Del Monte against the agency. The firm was forced to recall its entire supply of cantaloupe grown at a farm in Guatemala and imported to the U.S. in March.

Since then, Del Monte claims and the FDA has confirmed that the farm responsible for the contamination of cantaloupe melons has proven via an independent audit that it is “following good agricultural practices.”

Del Monte has denied public accusations that it is attempting to “bully” the FDA into allowing the company to import cantaloupe from its Guatemala farm. A spokesperson with the Center for Science in the Public Interest said there has been at least one case in the past of a company pushing a lift on an import ban only to be forced to issue another recall due to bacterial contamination.

The cantaloupe included in this issue is different than that responsible for the deadly outbreak of Listeria bacteria ongoing in the U.S.

The recall including Del Monte cantaloupe sickened 20 people in 10 states with Salmonella poisoning. The last reported illness in that outbreak was in April.