Did Your Supermarket Sell Colorado Cantaloupes? – Updated 10/4/11

I had another phone call from Auntie Anne yesterday evening (the last call was about ground turkey). This time she wanted to know whether Stop & Shop carried the Colorado cantaloupes recalled by Jensen Farms, Inc.

I had to tell her, “I don’t know.” (Oct 4th Update: Thanks to Jennifer (see comments), I can now tell Auntie Anne that Stop & Shop cantaloupes did not come from Jensen Farms)

FDA issued a Press Release on September 14th, warning consumers not to eat Rocky Ford Cantaloupes shipped by Jensen Farms. These cantaloupes are linked to the multi-state outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes that has infected more than 84 people and caused 15 deaths as of September 30th.

Jensen Farms has recalled the cantaloupes, which were shipped to Illinois, Wyoming, Tennessee, Utah, Texas, Colorado, Minnesota, Kansas, New Mexico, North Carolina, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. FDA advises that “further distribution is possible.” The recalled cantaloupes may be labelled as shown in one of these photos:

As usual, FDA has not issued a retail distribution list for this recall, leaving it up to Jensen Farms and its customers (food service distributors and retailers) to make that information public.

Here’s what the public has been told so far.

Jensen Farms, Inc. cantaloupes were supplied to the following grocery chains and foodservice distributors:

• Albertson’s:- Colorado stores.
• Aldi:- Aldi stores are located  in 31 states, primarily from Kansas to the East Coast.
• Basila Produce:- A “macro-distributor” of Jensen’s cantaloupes based in Albuquerque, NM
• Carol’s Cuts LLC:- A Kansas food processor, who supplied Carol’s Cuts Fruit Medley products to institutional food customers, including restaurants, in Overland Park, Kansas, Kansas City and Maryland Heights, Missouri and Omaha, Nebraska. The product was shipped to customers on August 26 and September 12, 2011.
• King Soopers:- Sweet Rocky Ford Cantaloupe – Jensen Farms; Various sizes. King Soopers has stores in Colorado and Wyoming.
• Safeway:- Jumbo Rocky Ford Cantaloupe from Jensen Farms; sold in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico (Aztec and Farmington), South Dakota and Wyoming between August 30 and September 6.
• Select Express LLC (Idaho):- Jensen Farms cantaloupes were shipped to Select Express (a food distribution company). Because the melons were too ripe to be sold, they were donated between August 28th and September 2nd.
• U.S. Foodservice:- “A trace‐back from secondary suppliers and processors found a few cases of whole and some “cut” product affected in two USF Distribution Centers in the West. A small number of customers affected have been contacted.”
• Wal-Mart:- North Dakota, Colorado* and New Mexico. Although Walmart has not posted the recall notice on its website (as of September 18th), a Colorado couple has filed suit against Jensen Farms Inc. and Wal-Mart, alleging that they purchased a “…tainted cantaloupe at a Wal-Mart store on Razorback Road in Colorado Springs.” The cantaloupes may also have been sold in Walmart stores in other states.
• Wegmans Buffalo (NY) area stores only:- Packaged Cantaloupe Chunks, Cantaloupe Slices, Gourmet Fruit Salad, Small Fruit Salad, Small and Large Fruit Salad with Pineapple, and Fruit Salad with Kiwi Fruit Trays (Best if used by September 4 to September 11), sold in the produce departments of Buffalo-area stores between August 31 and September 11. The packages were supplied to Wegmans by Fruit Fresh Up, of Depew, NY.
• Whole Foods Market:- In some New Mexico and Colorado locations. Notwithstanding these linked reports, Whole Foods believes that it was NOT supplied with Jensen Farms, Inc. cantaloupes.

*Based on information supplied by Bill Marler

The following grocery chains and foodservice distributors did NOT procure cantaloupes from Jensen:

• A&P
• Big Y
• BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc.
• Buehler’s Fresh Foods
• Harris Teeter
• Ingles Markets
• Price Chopper
• Publix
• ShopRite Supermarkets
• Stop & Shop (see Jennifer’s comment, below)
• Top Food and Drug
• Wegmans (except as noted above)

Finally, this is a list of 25 states which were supplied directly with cantaloupes by Jensen Farms: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

FDA has determined that cantaloupes were not shipped directly to California, North Carolina, Ohio or Virginia. Nevertheless, some redistribution of cantaloupes into these and other states may have occurred. None of the recalled cantaloupes were exported.

I’ll continue to update these lists as more information becomes available.