Barely a week after initiating a recall of 580 cases of whole Athena cantaloupes on potential listeria contamination, Burch Farms is expanding the recall due to possible health risk.
Thursday, Faison, North Carolina-based Burch Farms announced that it is voluntarily recalling 13,888 cases of whole Athena variety cantaloupes (9 cantaloupes per case) and 581 bins (110 cantaloupes per bin) of Athena variety cantaloupes due to the potential for being contaminated with the deadly bacteria Listeria monocytogenes. Melons affected by this recall total 188,902, according to the FDA statement.
The recalled whole Athena variety cantaloupes were shipped between July 15th and July 27th, and distributed to retail stores operating in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia.
The whole cantaloupes are identified by a red label reading Burch Farms referencing PLU # 4319. All cantaloupes involved in the recall were grown by Burch Farms, however some of the cantaloupes may have been identified with a "Cottle Strawberry, Inc." sticker referencing PLU #4319. Cottle Farms is not involved in this recall, noted the FDA.
Consuming food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria can cause listeriosis, a potentially fatal disease in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. The symptoms of listeriosis include, fever, muscle aches, and sometimes gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea or diarrhea.
Last year, the multi-state outbreak of listeriosis linked to contaminated cantaloupes from Holly, Colorado-based Jensen Farms resulted in 33 deaths, 147 infections and one miscarriage across 28 states, and it was declared as the deadliest outbreak of a food-borne disease to have been identified in decades.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.