listeria in cantaloupe...

Thall5

Any one heard this? A friend text me about it today, so I wanted to let you ladies know. Since Aug 15th there have been 15 cases, 1 died and all others were hospitalized. They reported it in 4 states, colorado, nebraska, oklahoma, and texas. There is more info on this.

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/749667  

Anyway, just wanted to let you ladies know. I haven't seen anything else posted about this.

WillsBride52309

Another board was discussing this yesterday.  The problem stems from the rough surface of a cantaloupe gathering germs and when you slice into it, you are pulling the germs into the fruit with the knife.  Most people don't think to fully wash the rind of a cantaloupe the same as all other fruit.  I would think a good scrub down with a wool pad or something should to the trick to getting it clean enough to cut into and eat. ???  Maybe?  

It's one of my favorite fruits....haven't had it in a while though but of course...now I want some...lol.

Thall5

I hope cleaning it would do the trick, but I think I will avoid it for a while. thanks for more insight, I love it too. but havnet had any in a while either due to not wanting sweet things.

BodaciousMommyToBe

I was advised by my doctors to be fastidious in washing all uncooked fruits and vegetables in a plain white vinegar wash.  They advised me not to eat any uncooked fruits or vegetables that were not washed by me at my home - so that means no salads or fresh cut fruit or fruit juice smoothies, etc. from restaurants, street vendors, etc.

So, I've been doing this since I was trying to conceive.  I put a large dose of white vinegar (3 parts water, 1 part vinegar is recommended in the attached link) into plain cold water and wash my produce with a soft bristle scrub brush that I bought at Ikea for a couple of bucks.  I also let my produce sit in the vinegar wash for several minutes before I scrub them. I rinse my uncooked produce in a new vinegar wash after I cut it, i.e. melons, peaches, pears, kiwis...but I did notice that my watermelon tasted a little less sweet afterwards...but since I didn't taste it before I washed it, I couldn't be sure if it was less sweet because of the vinegar wash or because it just wasn't all that sweet to begin with...

The acid in the vinegar destroys bacteria.

It may take a few minutes more to wash my produce, but if it reduces my risk for exposure to listeria, pesticides and other contaminants - then it's worth it. I made the mistake of explaining this to MIL and she told me she would wash all uncooked produce in a vinegar wash when she's preparing meals at her house - we used to eat at her place every Sunday.  So, I did that until I was at her place one Sunday and she offered me a nectarine and I asked if it was washed and she said that she'd wash it for me.  I watched her pour some vinegar on it and wipe it with a paper towel and hand it to me.  I was really upset and I asked her if that's how she washed all of the uncooked produce that she'd been serving to me...she said yes and that was the day we stopped eating at her house.  I love MIL but I've got a LO on the way and can't take any risks with short-stepping in the food prep area.  I've since shown her how to effectively wash produce, but instead of making a stink about it - I just invite her over to our place, so everyone's happy...especially me.

Here's a link to help explain the vinegar wash concept: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14540742