Safe Handling of Melons

Canada's Food Guide recommends eating fruits, such as melons, and vegetables regularly as part of a nutritious diet. Melons are fruits that belong to the gourd family and grow close to the ground. A common characteristic that all melons share is a hard skin or rind that surrounds a fleshy center. Some popular types of melons are honeydew, cantaloupe and watermelon.

How can melons become contaminated?

Fresh melons and other fruits and vegetables do not naturally contain bacteria that can make you sick.

Because melons are grown close to the ground, their outer skin or rind can become contaminated in the field by soil, contaminated water, wild and domestic animals or improperly composted manure. Bacteria may also be transferred during and after harvest from handling, storing and transporting.

Fresh fruit and vegetables, including melons, can also become contaminated with disease-causing bacteria when they come into contact with raw food items such as meat, poultry, seafood and their juices. Such contaminations can happen at the grocery store, in the shopping cart, in the refrigerator or from counters and cutting boards at home.

In particular, cantaloupe is at greater risk of contamination because of its unique netted rind. The spaces between the netting can trap bacteria and make them harder to remove.

How do I select melons in the grocery store?

When choosing melons, make sure to choose ones that are firm, not bruised or damaged. The melon can become contaminated through the bruises and damage to the hard outer rind or skin.

Some melons may have blemishes on one side. This is usually where the melon was resting on the ground during growth. This particular blemish does not make the melon unsafe to eat.

The flesh of an over ripe melon may be soft and discoloured, and the taste may be unpleasant.

Pre-cut Melons

When you buy pre-cut melons, make sure they are properly refrigerated or chilled and that they are displayed refrigerated at 4ºC (40ºF).

Storing Melons

While melons are best eaten fresh, whole or uncut melons can be stored in the refrigerator and can last 5-15 days in the refrigerator after purchase, depending on the ripeness, variety and growing conditions.

All cut melons should be refrigerated immediately, and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days at 4ºC (40ºF) or less. Do not leave cut melons at room temperature for longer than two hours; if you do, you should throw them out.

Cleaning and Preparing Melons

• Throw away a melon that is bruised or rotten.
• Before and after handling melons, wash your hands thoroughly with warm water and soap.
• Before cutting the melon, thoroughly wash and scrub the whole melon with warm water using a clean produce brush. This step will help remove bacteria attached to soil. Otherwise, bacteria from the outer rind can transfer to the inner flesh of the melon when cut.
• Thoroughly wash all food equipment and utensils (e.g., counter tops, cutting boards, knives, etc.) that come into contact with the melon, with warm water and soap.

There is no need to use anything other than water when washing melons. Produce washes may not completely remove or kill bacteria, viruses and parasites. Washing melons gently under fresh, running water is at least as effective as using cleansers.

Foodborne Illness and Symptoms

Foodborne illness or food poisoning happens when a person gets sick from eating foods that are contaminated with microorganisms such as bacteria, parasites or viruses. Bacteria that has been linked to food poisoning and melons is Salmonella.

The most common symptoms of foodborne illness include:

• Stomach cramps
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Fever

It is estimated that there are approximately 11 million cases of food-related illnesses in Canada every year. Many of these illnesses could be prevented by following proper food handling and preparation techniques.

What is the Government of Canada doing about the safety of fresh produce?

The Government of Canada and industry work together to help identify best practices that can be used to help prevent contamination of fresh produce throughout the food system, from the field to the store. In addition, inspection and enforcement activities conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency work to ensure that steps taken by producers, manufacturers and importers have been effective and that the foods available to Canadians are safe.

Additional food safety information can be found on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency ,  Be Food Safe and Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education Web sites.