The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) today released a study that found that 99.8% of whole cantaloupe samples it tested during the 2010/2011 season were negative for the presence of Salmonella.

For its targeted survey focusing on Salmonella, the CFIA collected a total of 499 whole cantaloupe samples (385 imported, 114 domestically produced) were collected and tested for Salmonella bacteria. One sample was found to be unsatisfactory due to the presence of Salmonella. The CFIA initiated a food safety investigation as a result of this unsatisfactory result, which led to a product recall. No illnesses associated with the consumption of any of this product were reported.

Agency officials said the main objective of this survey was to generate baseline surveillance data on the presence and distribution of bacterial pathogen of concern Salmonella spp. in imported and domestically produced cantaloupes.The CFIA has identified cantaloupes as one of the priority commodity groups of fresh fruits and vegetables for enhanced surveillance. As such, it has collected over 3,500 cantaloupe samples over five years (2008/2009 – 2012/2013).