Bad news for all of you produce lovers out there: it looks as though you healthy eaters are being made to endure yet ANOTHER scary recall. Luckily, the frightening and deadly romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak is under control, but now the CDC has told the public that we need to start worrying about our fruit, specifically our pre-cut melon.

In a release published on June 8th, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that fresh-cut melons – including watermelon, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, and pre-made combinations, or “melodies” of the varieties – might be contaminated with salmonella.

For those of you who don’t know about salmonella, it’s a bacterial disease that contributes to 1.2 million illnesses, 23,000 hospitalizations, and 450 deaths in the U.S. every year. Although salmonella can be contracted in a variety of ways, the CDC reports that about one million of the above annual cases can be linked back to contaminated food sources.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s not a fun illness to deal with; most sufferers complain of diarrhea, fever, and severe abdominal cramps that could last up to one week. Yep, not fun at all!

The United States is experiencing yet another wide-reaching food recall

As we mentioned, this pre-cut melon contamination is nowhere near being our first recall this year. So, why, you may ask, is this continuing to happen in the first place? Sadly, it seems as though food producers simply aren’t doing enough to safeguard their customers from potentially deadly, preventable illnesses.

Usually, these types of events occur when the manufacturer is not doing a diligent enough job of adhering to food safety regulations. Their equipment might not be cleaned properly or they could be allowing sick employees to work around their food.

The manufacturer called into question in this particular recall is called Caito Foods, LLC and it is based out of Indianapolis, Indiana. So far, this multi-state recall has sickened a total of 60 people, with a little more than half of those folks seeking hospitalization for their severe symptoms. Although no further information has been released about the victims, we do know that the youngest is less than a year old.

Now, 60 people might not seem like a large number, especially considering the CDC feels that this recall could affect a grand total of just 8 states, but it’s important to note that the concern over this pre-cut melon is nowhere near going away.

As a matter of fact, the CDC states that situations that include salmonella, specifically, are quite dangerous, as the average time period between a person purchasing a food product to the time they become ill and report it to a doctor is anywhere between 2 and 4 weeks. Because this recall was just released this week, there’s little doubt that we’ll continue to hear of even more illnesses.

To learn more about this pre-cut melon salmonella outbreak, including the stores that were carrying the contaminated fruit, be sure to watch the video below. Scary stuff!

Have you or someone you know been sickened by pre-cut melon? If so, what happened? How do you safeguard your family against contamination?