Microbial Contamination and Disease Outbreaks Associated with Rockmelons (): Implications for Public Health Protection.

Foodborne illnesses caused by consuming contaminated fresh produce not only pose serious public health risks but also lead to huge economic losses. Rockmelons (cantaloupes) have emerged as a recurrent source of disease outbreaks caused by foodborne pathogens, including , , and . The most common factor of the outbreaks was the microbial contamination of rockmelons at the farm, and subsequently, the pathogenic bacteria were transferred to the flesh during cutting and processing.