Important info from the California Cantaloupe Advisory Board

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Even though cantaloupe has a hard rind that isn’t eaten, you need to wash your melon before eating it... really wash it, or there can be real consequences for your health.

Food safety litigator Bill Marler has been “suing people over cantaloupe for years.” One of the biggest recent outbreaks was in 2023, when almost 600 people were sickened in the U.S. and Canada and eight people died.

The culprit is the skin of the melon. The netted rind is the perfect place for bacteria, says Marler. “Unlike most produce, bacteria doesn’t just sit on the surface of a cantaloupe after harvest—it grows there.” This can happen anytime between harvest and your grocery store purchase.

This means if you don’t properly wash cantaloupe before cutting, your knife will simply drag any harmful bacteria into the flesh. And since cantaloupe is eaten raw, there’s no chance of killing the bacteria while cooking.

 

The California Cantaloupe Advisory Board (CCAB) and USDA have cleaning recommendations specific to cantaloupes and other melons with a netted (rough) rind. A simple quick rinse is enough for most fruit and veg, but this one needs a bit more care.

In short, the USDA recommends: “To minimize the risk of cross contamination, use a vegetable brush and wash melons thoroughly under running water before peeling or slicing.” The CCAB notes that you can use the same kind of brush commonly used to clean potatoes before cooking. 

Note that you’ll also want to make sure to clean your knife and cutting board to help decrease chances of cross-contamination. Basically, think of the clean-up after cutting melon similar to dealing with raw chicken, another product prone to harbor salmonella.

That being said, it is still statistically unlikely to contract salmonella from cantaloupe. So pull out your vegetable brush, give your prized melon a good wash, and enjoy the taste of summer.