Is your reading comprehension so poor that you couldn't figure out the "Jensen Farms of Holly, Colo" even with its improper state abbreviation?

Or are you simply so bigoted that you need to shout ignorance without evening attempting to read the article?

It is not improper to use abbreviations other than the two-letter postal abbreviations for states. Some news reporting agencies do not practice that style. Ignorance is everywhere.

American multinational corporations have way more influence on our health than the relatively small amount of food that originates in Mexico.

Less regulation will mean a lot more of these occurrences. I eat a lot of cantaloupe, I have no idea where it comes from, and was sick for most of the last week. I'm now throwing it all out until this is cleared up. And then I'll wait for the next company that disregards FDA standards and ends up injuring or killing more American consumers.

Just proves that the FDA can't protect everyone all the time. More regs won't prevent it happening again.

FDA is your typical government agency in the business of serving either itself or catering to the industry. Despite the repeated failures of government regulatory agencies such as the SEC, FDIC, FTC, FCC, EPA, etc, to protect the public interest, gullible Americans are still unable see the obvious. Instead, they want more government regulations.

The solution: let the private sector regulate commercial and consumer goods.

Less and less regulation will serve the bigots just right. They talk from both sides of their mouths. Regulations not enough - no regulations.

FDA notificaitons can be obtained online by signing up for any food recalls. Informed the same day as the newspapers. You can look at labels and lots numbers to find out where the items came from and also to take them back to the grocer for a refund. Forward all my FDA emails to friend and family. Be the advocate not the victim. I work in the food industry and this is a protection for my customers.

Did you READ dude? They were grown on a farm in Colorado.

roger ramjet....send the cantaloupes to mexico nafta works both ways...

Yup - too many regulations means more violations, yes? So legalizing recreational drugs must mean fewer ppl using 'em at all, fewer deaths and widespread containment of drug use! Amazing, in such a world we could deregulate weaponry (always wanted me an AGS-17) and have fewer firearm deaths, dereg'ing the auto industry would mean 5000 bucks off the cost of an average import - we could deregulate nuclear, petrochemical and hazardous material facilities and put 'em right int he suburbs where the most workers are! No doubt after eliminating zoning at the local level & building codes @ the city level, ALL th' drags on American industry and business could be eliminated! Before their were regulations, the cost of wear & tear on our beloved vehicles was EVERYONE responsibility - the elimination of valve-sparing tetraethyl lead cost our society million in lost auto sales & only saved a few million children from neurological decay. Deregulate it all, I want a gas station under my house and a nuclear waste processor next door! Love those tech jobs...

Why Colorado, of course!

(In other words: you fail at reading comprehension and geography!)

COLORADO, please consult a map of the continental United States...

I think Colorado is not a foreign country, but is part of the United States now--actually since 1876.

Ay dude, is Colorado in USA, man? Like you know what I mean, man, like where's Colorado? I aint good at knowing nut-un about reading, riting, and rithmatic. Chilling out man. Just saying.

Thanks for clearing up that Colorado is still in the U.S.A.! Bob had me believing we had annexed it!

Bob can type but can't read. USA mantra has gone to their heads. Scary.

Actually that album came from the U.K. Def Leppard still rocks! I puked more than once listening to them as a kid!

Been trying to drop a few pounds lately by eating less.

Thanks for the inspiration!

Sorry to gross you out, but it's true.

The treatment plants (known to most as "water treatment plants") have to shut down when there is a heavy rainfall or flooding to save the plants or all the algae gets washed away. It's really the live algae, and not chemicals, that "clean" the waste by eating it before the water is released into the waterways.

If there is heavy flooding of the holding tanks the algae is washed out and it takes a long time to regrow it. So the tanks are closed off and the spillways are opened so the waste is passed directly into the rivers and lakes and oceans. That's why the plants are built on their shores.

Tea baggers do not want any inspections of food or anything else for that matter, let big business regulate themselves is what they want! Who is the STUPID one?

Texana Deb, While using this article for political jabs is certainly in poor taste, there is a certain point to be made. We don't need any of these government agencies: USDA, FDA, CDC, or HHS, according to the Tea Party beliefs. "Too much government intervention in our lives."

It seems in some areas we aren't doing enough. Eight dead Americans is too many for me....

I'll take the regulatory bodies and some. I see new business opportunity in non-regulated grocery stores. At your service TBaggers, Righties, Bigots - buy one get three free.

The violent, bloody diarrhea has left mozzie speechless.

It's listeria, not a cantaloupe that's killing people. lol =P

Agree. And I'll also add a prayer for the growers. That family has run this farm for several generations and their livelihood and reputation is ruined. They feel awful about those who have been sickened and killed and are working to make things right.

I also agree. Being farmer myself,I know how hard you try to do the best job you can. but its a little like trying not to get the flue or cold.

My prayers are with everyone.

Notorious Kelly

If the feds would take their finger out of our butts and check our food, we'd be much safer.

No, then there would be an e-coli outbreak!

Notorious logic. The intellect is shining today. Thanks for your posts.

Oh now they want scientific theories too.

They want fed fingers out of their butts and then complain when they crap.

Notorious Kelly -

Massive flooding has caused septic tanks to overflow, treatment plants to overflow with raw sewage, and it has contaminated commercial farms and family gardens.

We will see more of this type of thing throughout the year and it is NOBODY'S fault, just a result of nature's playing havoc with all of us. Even in the cities and towns where homeless people urinate and defecate in the streets and flood waters wash it into stores where food is on pallets and open to contamination, and is merely rinsed off and sold to consumers, we will see this type of thing.

Did you read the article a couple of weeks ago about some study that said dried dog feces dust is contaminatng the atomosphere in cities? Anything but the truth.

Bacteria are often surprisingly mobile. As one example. Staph. Aureus, a skin bacteria, is a spirochete that can burrow through tissue and raise havoc in a number of ways- including the truly scary "flesh-eating" staph that can destroy tissue at very high rates by the production of pyogenic exotoxins- (think toxic shock syndrome under the skin) and which generally kills 3 of four untreated victims.

Back to the cantaloupe: contaminated water on the flower before the fruit forms can place the bacteria inside of it- and contamination of the rind by fertilizers et al can cause any knife used to prepare the melon to carry the bacteria into the flesh of the melon just prior to serving.

FeO2 Dreams-

Please don't misinform readers as you are clearly not an expert in this field! Staphylococcus aureus is a gram-positive coccus, not a spirochete! It is also not mobile and cannot burrow through tissue! There are no "flesh-eating" Staph. species. You are referring to Streptococcus pyogenes.

These situations are so unfortunate. Even with the best precautions, contamination happens. These bacteria are in our environment, and while we (scientists, farmers, clinicians, etc.) do an overall amazingly great job at keeping them at bay, they will always find a way around it. All we can do is try to stay a step ahead.

My thoughts go out to those affected by this outbreak, patients and farmers.

There you go again! Go Perry!

Yeah, processed food usually don't kill anyone!

What the right HAS done is attack the budgets of many regulatory agencies- and that means less people and less equipment.

Ask any LEO, fireman or medical worker what impact a budget cut has on effectiveness and quality of service. The rich folks like the Kochs who jointly fund Astroturf organizations like the Tea Party don't care what happens to you. After all, if you can afford security, fire staff, and a hospital for your private gated complex, that's not really a consideration, is it?

Right is clueless, dumb and irrelevant - I am convinced today. You can't argue with a tree. Let them eat more cantaloupe.

Prayer? Really? Once again the answer for those who don't understand the question is presented as a panacea. Tell ya what, instead of praying, why don't we give the sick some sugar pills? At least sugar pills have some proven, documented efficacy.

Coldfax, would you make fun of a homosexual, or a minority? No need to make fun of gigi.