Paper on 2021 Foodborne illness outbreaks from Imported Melons

6 Jan 2023

A paper has been released in the Journal of Food Protection, Jan 2023, relating to the 2021 outbreak linked to melon consumption in the UK.

Highlights of the paper include:

Outbreaks linked to items of non-animal origin are challenging to investigate.

Imported Galia and watermelon caused outbreaks of GI disease in the UK in 2021.

Integrating sequencing data with import/export data facilitates hypothesis generation.

Options for removing pathogens from the flesh of ready-to-eat fruit are limited.

Preharvest safety measures include good practice on farm and during distribution.

Two Outbreaks of Foodborne Gastrointestinal Infection Linked to Consumption of Imported Melons, United Kingdom, March to August 2021 - ScienceDirect