Cantaloupe death toll hits 14, worst in a decade

[RamboLiberal]

Source: MSNBC

As many as 14 people may be dead in a still-widening outbreak of listeria food poisoning tied to contaminated cantaloupes, according to a tally of state health officials' counts.

Officials in Kansas, Nebraska, Texas and Wyoming have added six victims to an official count of eight dead and 55 ill reported last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CDC officials were expected to update the official toll late Tuesday, but food safety lawyer Bill Marler of Seattle reported an unofficial count first. An earlier version of this story reported 15 deaths, but that later was revised.

"Why the CDC is taking its time is that with listeria, even though they're getting genetic matches, they want to be as accurate as possible," Marler said, noting that many victims may have underlying health conditions that could confound the exact cause of death.



Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44689523/ns/health-food_safety/

[RKP5637]

1. K&R!!! n/t

[Sienna86]

2. And Michelle Bachmann believes there is too much food regulation.

n/t

[Plucketeer]

3. Hey!

Let's all send Bachmann a cantalope with a note that says "Enjoy!"

[No Elephants]

17. Sadly, she ain't the only one.

[MineralMan]

4. Skip the fruit tray at the supermarket, folks, right now. nt

[mindwalker_i]

5. That's got to be causing some melencholy

[GliderGuider]

6. Oh dear!!!

:spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank:

[Omaha Steve]

7. Cantaloupe outbreak is deadliest in a decade

Source: AP-Excite

By MARY CLARE JALONICK

WASHINGTON (AP) - Health officials say as many as 16 people have died from possible listeria illnesses traced to Colorado cantaloupes, the deadliest food outbreak in more than a decade.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that 72 illnesses, including 13 deaths, are linked to the tainted fruit. State and local officials say they are investigating three additional deaths that may be connected.

The death toll released by the CDC Tuesday - including newly confirmed deaths in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas - surpassed the number of deaths linked to an outbreak of salmonella in peanuts almost three years ago. Nine people died in that outbreak.

The CDC said Tuesday that they have confirmed two deaths in Texas and one death each in in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Last week the CDC reported two deaths in Colorado, four deaths in New Mexico, one in Oklahoma and one in Maryland.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20110928/D9Q16LAO0.html

[geckosfeet]

8. Wonderful. Lets deregulate the food industry some more. It will thin out the herd.

[defendandprotect]

9. +1 ---

[RKP5637]

15. Isn't that one of the things the tea party harps on, they want to gut regulation of

the food industry ...

[wakemewhenitsover]

10. Food, Inc. strikes again. n/t

[kestrel91316]

11. Deregulate! Deregulate! Deregulate!......Yeah, that'll work.......

[hugo_from_TN]

16. Worse now than under Bush apparently

disgusting.:banghead:

[defendandprotect]

12. What is it -- ?

Listeria Outbreak: What You Need to Know


Listeria Outbreak: What You Need to Know

Listeriosis is caused by infection with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, which are found in soil and water. People are typically infected after consuming raw foods that picked up the bacteria from the soil, or became contaminated when manure from animals carrying L. monocytogenes was used as fertilizer

[bongbong]

13. The Free Market works great!

As always, the Free Market works great. The people who died won't buy any more fruit, so the company will be punished for their errors. They'll lose at least .0005% of their market! We don't need government regulation.

[greiner3]

14. Sorry;

All I could think of was the movie title;

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

And the skit in Monty Python and the Holy Grail;

The Killer Bunny Rabbit

Maybe the Holy Hand grenade might work in this instance too. Just lob it at the nearest dereg freak after you pull the pin and count to 3, not 4 as that is too long and not 2 as that is not long enough.