Capacity of Listeria monocytogenes Strains from the 2011 Cantaloupe Outbreak To Adhere, Survive, and Grow on Cantaloupe

The 2011 listeriosis outbreak attributed to whole cantaloupe involved several genetically distinct strains of serotypes 1/2a and 1/2b that had not been previously reported in invasive listeriosis outbreaks. Here we investigated the potential of strains from the 2011 cantaloupe outbreak to adhere, survive, and grow on cantaloupe rind and flesh and in juice extracted from cantaloupe at different temperatures (4, 8, and 25°C). All strains were able...