Rockmelon listeria-scare farm given the all clear to sell fruit again
The Australian rockmelon scare has hurt sales. Photo: Getty
The New South Wales farm at the centre of the rockmelon listeria outbreak that claimed six lives has said it will resume supplying fruit to the public again this week.
A statement by the Rombola Family Farms confirmed the state’s Food Authority has given them approval to resume production, packing and the sale of rockmelons.
The farm, which is based at Nericon near Griffith, has met all the requirements of the authority’s clearance program.
While a link between the contamination and the rockmelons was established, the farm’s statement said neither the authority nor an independent microbiologist were able to identify any specific source associated with Rombola or with the farm’s rockmelon washing, storage or packing facilities.
The Australian melon industry voiced concerns about farm receiving the all-clear.
In a statement, the Australian Melon Association (AMA) said the cause of the outbreak had not been “traced or adequality addressed”.
The association’s industry development manager, Dianne Fullelove, said growers were anxious to understand what went wrong, adding that they had not received a report on the outcomes of the Food Authority’s investigation.
“We are asking the growers supplying rockmelon now to brand or identify their rockmelons so that consumers will know the origin of the fruit,” Mrs Fullelove said.
Should I be worried?
Rockmelons on the shelf are now safe to eat, but symptoms of listeria infection can take between eight and 90 days to appear.
The farm said it will undertake mandatory testing as part of the authority’s clearance program as well as voluntary testing on a daily basis.
The listeria outbreak was identified on February 19 this year.
Since then, three people in NSW and three in Victoria died from the disease. Nineteen people were overall affected.
Rombola Family Farms said rockmelons that were “in the supply chain” at the time were all recalled and destroyed.
The AMA said the melon industry was working to develop and accreditation scheme for rockmelon growers in collaboration with state health authorities.
