Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain says none of the salmonella-tainted cantaloupes that recently killed two people and sickened 141 nationwide have been traced to Louisiana.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the salmonella outbreak is linked to contaminated cantaloupe grown in southwestern Indiana. The outbreak comes a year after cantaloupes contaminated with listeria from Colorado killed at least 30 people and sickened 146.
Strain told the News-Star Monday that consumers should take safety precautions when eating any produce. He recommends using a vegetable brush to clean the melons and once the skin is off, wash the knife before cutting the fruit.
And he says once the fruit is cut, it should be consumed within a day or so.