Rocky Ford Cantaloupe: Heat Wave Brings Melons To The Shelves Early, One Year After Deadly Listeria Outbreak

A little less than a year after the Jensen Farms listeria outbreak took the nation by storm as the third-deadliest food outbreak in U.S. history, Rocky Ford cantaloupes are making their way back onto grocery shelves.

Ironically, the melons will be back on King Soopers' shelves Friday, July 13.

According to KMGH, the cantaloupe is ripening early this year due to the recent heat wave that has also sped up the growth of Colorado's Palisade peaches, making the fruits sweeter.

The 2011 listeria outbreak claimed 32 lives and made over 140 very ill nationwide. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention at the time said that cantaloupe consumers should not eat any Rocky Ford cantaloupes from Jensen Farms as a precautionary measure, especially not the elderly, persons with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women who were more at risk for contracting listeriosis.

A report by the Food and Drug Administration last October said that old equipment and dirty pools of water on the floor of Jensen Farms' packing facility were likely to blame, and just months ago Jensen Farms filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Jensen Farms was the only grower that was identified with the listeriosis outbreak and it did not plant any cantaloupes this year.

The farmers recently trademarked the name "Rocky Ford Cantaloupe" under the Rocky Ford Grower's Association and the state's department of agriculture reportedly shelled out $175,000 for a re-promotional campaign to run in later in the summer and fall plus a $800,000 tracking system to help prevent future breakouts. Colo. Commissioner of Agriculture John Salazar also told KOAA that his department would conduct third party audits.

On Facebook the Rocky Ford Grower's Association released a statement about the safety of their packaging shed:

Hirakata Farms is going to be the only packing shed representing the association in 2012. They are in the process of building their state of the art processing shed to be as safe as known possible. They are building this shed based on the best known methods of cooling, washing, sterilizing, and packing which is going to allow them to put out the safest product possible.