Onions and Cantaloupe Recalled Due to Listeria Contamination

The FDA found Listeria in onions produced by Gills Onions, LLC in a retail store. Later they found Listeria in one of their packing plants. Gills Onions, LLC is the largest producer of onions that are chopped, slivered, or peeled. They also produce chopped celery. They initiated a voluntary recall of all products made at this plant. Most of their products are used as ingredients in other products. Their products are distributed throughout the United States and Canada. You can check www.foodsafety.gov for more information on the recall.

They have not found any listeria in the other products that have been recalled. So far, no cases are reported of illness from the onions. Gills Onions, LLC has hired a bacteriologist to help them improve the safety of their products.

On Saturday, North Carolina's Burch Farms and Hannaford Supermarkets recalled 188,902
cantaloupes due to possible contamination with Listeria. These were shipped out between July 15 to July 27. The cantaloupes have a red label that reads 'Burch Farms' and 'Cantaloupe PLU 4319.' Some of the cantaloupe are branded as "Cottle Strawberry, Inc They were shipped to to FL, GA, IL, MD, ME, NC, NJ, NY, PA, SC and VA.

If you purchased on of these, please throw it out. So far no one has reported any illness from these cantaloupe.

Hopefully no one will get sick from these onions or cantaloupe, but. Listeria is very dangerous. Twenty percent of those who get a Listeria infection will die. Just last August, 33 died from Listeria-infected cantaloupe from Jenson Farms in Colorado.

This time, the FDA seems to have done a good job of protecting the American public. But they are working with their hands tied behind their back. Congress only gives the FDA enough money to inspect three percent of the produce that we eat.