DeGette Statement on FDA Listeria Investigation Findings

Statement

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-1) issued the following statement in response to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) findings on the recent outbreak of Listeria monoctyogenes in cantaloupe.

"As a long-time food safety advocate and a representative of Colorado, the findings released today by the FDA regarding the listeria outbreak are particularly disturbing. They seem to reveal that Jensen Farms' agricultural and management practices may have been inadequate, potentially resulting in the introduction, spread, and growth of the toxic listeria contamination in the Farms' cantaloupe. The systemic problems uncovered by the FDA -- from facility design to equipment usage to transportation protocols -- underscore the critical need for our committee to conduct a thorough investigation of this outbreak, and how such contaminations can be avoided in the future.

"Over the past few months, the continuing health and economic costs of this outbreak have been felt acutely by the families who've lost loved ones, and by the Colorado and national cantaloupe growers unfairly swept up in a frightening recall that didn't involve their fruit. On behalf of those most affected, and given what we learned today about the situation at Jensen Farms, I am certain my colleagues on the Committee will join me now in making this investigation a priority."

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