Listeria Outbreak: Cantaloupe Farmers Linked to 2011 Contamination

A deadly outbreak of listeria that killed 33 people in 2011 resulted in two misdemeanor arrests, according to various reports.

Eric and Ryan Jensen, ages 37 and 33, who previously owned the currently bankrupt Jesen Farms, were under allegations that they potentially allowed deadly contamination to reach the public via their produce. 

The Jensen brothers sold cantaloupe that was grown on their Colorado farm. Yet investigators say that the pair chose not to use a listeria-inhibiting spray on the melons, which could potentially be indicative of the outbreak. Food inspectors also believe that dirty conveyor belts used also allowed the dangerous food-borne pathogen to spread more effectively, which sickened more than 150 individuals.

Many believe that the outbreak could have been avoidable, via The New York Times.

"Federal prosecutors said the owners, the brothers Eric and Ryan Jensen, were arrested on misdemeanor charges of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce. The Jensens' lawyer did not immediately return a call seeking comment... Prosecutors said the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had determined that the Jensens had not adequately cleaned the cantaloupe."

Seattle based lawyer Bill Marler was allegedly one of the first to call upon the U.S. Attorney's Office and request criminal charges be brought up regarding the outbreak.

The Jensen brothers have said that the listeria outbreak resulted from a terrible accident via a recent statement.

What do you think? 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that Listeriosis is a serious infection that can be caused by eating food contaminated by bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. The disease primarily affects older adults, pregnant women, new borns and those with weakened immune systems.