Federal authorities are pointing to an unsanitary Colorado cantaloupe packing shed as the probable chief culprit in a listeria outbreak that has taken 25 lives, the nation’s deadliest foodborne disease outbreak in more than a quarter-century.
The suspect packing shed was operated by Jensen Farms, in Granada, Colo., which launched a cantaloupe recall last month after being identified as the producer of the tainted melons.
Officials with the Food and Drug Administration, who released a report on their agency’s investigation, found that Jensen Farms had recently installed used packing equipment that was corroded and hard to clean. The shed’s floors were also were hard to clean, and pools of water potentially harboring the bacteria collected close to packing equipment.
“You’re rolling around cantaloupe on uncleanable equipment and you’re getting it wet and you’re not cooling it — it provides the perfect environment for listeria growth and spread,” said James Gorny, an FDA food safety adviser.
As The New York Times reports, officials described the building as an open-air structure having a concrete floor, a roof and no walls.
A lawyer for Jensen Farms said he could not comment on the FDA’s findings. The farm had passed a food safety audit by an outside contractor just days before the outbreak began.
Without criticizing that auditor directly, an FDA deputy commissioner, Michael R. Taylor, said the agency intended to establish standards for how auditors should be trained and how audits should be conducted.
The food industry increasingly has relied on third-party audits of farms and processing plants to ensure food safety. But the auditors are hired by the companies being inspected, and their procedures are largely unregulated.
The listeria outbreak, which began in late July, has struck 26 states. It has sickened 123 people, including the 25 dead, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
According to the FDA, it is the worst outbreak of foodborne illness since 1985, when Mexican-style cheese was blamed for 142 cases of listeriosis, including 48 deaths, in Los Angeles County.
STUART SILVERSTEIN
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