Since early this year, Australia has been burdened by a listeria outbreak. The cause of the situation is caused by bacteria entering rockmelon. What is the latest development in this issue? Read on to find out more.
There have been 19 victims to this case, including six fatalities since February 2018. Since then, NSW Food Authority tracked that the outbreak came from Rombola Family Farms, located in NSW Riverina. They had been working together to determine the exact cause. Read more about this scandal here.
However, an announcement was made that the farm is resuming the production, packing and sale of rockmelons this week. The farm has met all the requirements of the NSW Food Authority’s Clearance Program. They have found that the farm has the proper washing, storage and packing facilities for rockmelons. None of these issues caused the outbreak of listeria.
What Caused The Listeria Outbreak?
The investigation will continue to find the source of the outbreak. The conclusion thus far is that the cause of the outbreak was a combination of environmental and weather conditions contaminating the source of the fruit, “with low levels of the bacteria persisting after the washing process”.
If you would like more information on this topic or get the source URL for this article, then email us at [email protected]
