The UK authorities published in JFP (January 2023) a study on two foodborne outbreaks caused by contaminated imported melon. Between March and July 2021, there was an outbreak of 113 cases of Salmonella Braenderup in the UK (62% female, median age 61 years, 33% hospitalized). Galia melons from Honduras were identified as the vehicle of infection. Subsequently, the outbreak strain was isolated from two samples of Galia melon imported from Latin America. In July and August 2021, there was an outbreak of 17 cases of STEC O157:H7 in the UK (53% female, median age 21 years, 35% were hospitalized). A questionnaire implicated eating precut watermelon from a retailer as the source of infection. In outbreaks associated with fresh fruit, due to the difficulty in removing pathogens from the fruit's flesh, efforts should focus on preventing microbial contamination from production to processing to distribution. @ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X22000394
