Mexico closes cantaloupe plant temporarily amid deadly salmonella outbreak

[December 16, 2023]  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's government said Friday it temporarily closed a cantaloupe processing plant while investigating the source of a salmonella contamination that has killed at least nine people in the U.S. and Canada.

Mexican health officials said they ordered the temporary suspension of activities at the plant in the northern state of Sonora after two visits, in which they took samples from surfaces and water which are pending results.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Canada's public health agency (PHAC) have reported at least nine deaths between both countries and hundreds of illnesses from salmonella since October. Four deaths were reported by the CDC. Five were reported by PHAC, according to Canadian media.

Health authorities in both countries have implicated Malichita and Rudy brand cantaloupes as the sources of the outbreak and issued recalls of the fruit. Malichita did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Rudy could not immediately be reached.

Cantaloupes are pictured at a fruit stall in Mexico City, Mexico, on January 11, 2019. Picture taken January 11, 2019. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril/File Photo

Batches of cantaloupes had been returned to Mexico from the U.S., the Mexican government said in a statement, adding that it was working to prevent the contaminated products from being distributed to the market.

Earlier this week, Mexico warned that some peaches, plums and nectarines from HMC Farms brand imported from the U.S. were possibly contaminated with Listeria. U.S. health officials had notified its trading partner of the risk, Mexico said.

(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison; editing by Diane Craft and by Sandra Maler)

[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.