Growers are generally pleased with a review of cantaloupe packing operations, but some industry insiders question the value of the Food and Drug Administration’s 2013 inspection tour and the preliminary report released recently.A more detailed report is in the works but FDA officials decided to delay it until the produce safety rule — due to be published […]

After inspecting 17 operations, federal officials report that fresh cantaloupe packinghouses are generally following good agriculture practices even though tests at nine of the companies showed listeria contamination. The inspections by the Food and Drug Administration were part of the agency’s follow-up efforts after a 2011 cantaloupe-related listeria monocytogenes outbreak that sickened more than 150 nationwide […]

Sthrough the timeline of press coverage from the Chamberlain Farms’ Salmonella outbreak, which occurred in late August 2012, is quite the task. The outbreak, which was traced back to the farm in Owensville, IN, sickened 260 and killed three across 24 states. Media coverage of the case began that August and pressed onward in the […]

More and more consumers seem to be turning to organic produce as they seek more healthful menu options, and the melon category is no exception.

Read Full Article Here: The Packer

Last year at the end of the season, Southeastern Growers Association, Kenly, N.C., updated its cantaloupe packing line to all-stainless steel and this year is the first season that the company is using the new equipment. James Sharp, grower and salesman at the Growers Association, said this “ensures the customers that Southeastern Growers is doing […]

The Eastern Cantaloupe Growers Association and the Georgia Watermelon Association are spreading food safety education from the farm into the kitchen by developing consumer food safety videos to go in retail produce departments.

A GDA/USDA block grant funded project, these brief, 45-second videos detail safe handling from the grocery store into the kitchen, reminding consumers to […]

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