The Federal Commission for the Protection from Health Risks (Cofepris) announced this Friday the temporary closure of the cantaloupe melon processing plant that the United States and Canada have linked to a salmonellosis outbreak that has so far killed 8 people and affected 359. Mexican health authorities are testing the water and soil of the Malachita company's ejidos to find the origin of the bacteria.
The statement released by the Department of Agriculture focuses on the Mexican company's land in Guaymas, Sonora. “Samples of inert surfaces and water have been collected, for which notification of results on the origin or time of contamination is awaited,” the notification said. This investigation at the place of origin of the melons rules out that the fruit was infected during the export process or in supermarkets in the USA and Canada.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) announced last Thursday that so far five people have died and 129 have been infected with salmonellosis after consuming melons labeled Malachita and Rudy, both produced by the Sonora company. “The majority of those affected are children under five years of age or adults over 65 years of age,” the federal authority argued. In the United States the number is 3 deaths and 230 cases.
Authorities in both countries have singled out Malachita melons and removed them from supermarkets. The Agriculture Ministry said in a statement released last Thursday that the fruits may have been contaminated in the export process or in countries affected by the outbreak. “The company has the necessary controls for the traceability of its operations, allowing to follow the trace of the melon from the production unit to its entry into the US territory, the point from which the product entered Canada” says the statement.
This setback could impact the melon business in Mexico, which is the world's second-largest exporter after Spain. According to the latest report from the Economic Complexity Observatory, the sale of this fruit brought a profit of $331 million (about 5,766 million pesos) in 2021. For every 100 melons that leave Mexico, 99 go to the United States or Canada, where the brand's reputation is already tarnished.
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