Cantaloupe Outbreak

How to know if you have Listeria: Dealing with dangerous melons

Although the infected cantaloupes were recalled on Sept. 14th, it's still too early to ignore the threat ofListeria monocytogenes that has been sweeping the nation.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, "the number of illnesses and deaths will probably grow in coming weeks because the symptoms of Listeria don't always show up right away. It can take four weeks or more for a person to fall ill after eating food contaminated with Listeria."

Listeriosis is a form of food poisoning less common, but much more serious, than salmonella and E coli. It is typically found in unpasteurized products (milk and cheese) or uncooked meats.

It can take four weeks or more for a person to fall ill after eating food contaminated with Listeria.

It's unusual for produce to be infected with the bacteria. This is the most serious outbreak of Listeria in decades.

Jensen Farms, a Colorado farm that has grown Rocky Ford cantaloupes since the 1950s, is the source of the culprit cantaloupes. The company shipped just more than 300,000 cases of the dangerous melons between July 29 and Sept. 10 (the recall period), and all remaining cantaloupes have been destroyed.

Listeria, like most bacteria, affects the very old, the very young, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems the most severely.

As of Wednesday, the CDC had recorded more than 72 instances of illness linked to Listeriosis. Fourteen of those were in Texas alone. Two elderly citizens of the Dallas/Fort Worth area who had been infected with the bacteria died this week.

The symptoms of Listeriosis are vague. They can be flu-like (fever, muscle aches, nausea, diarrhea), or similar to the effects of a desk job (headache, stiff neck) or intoxication (confusion, loss of balance, convulsions).

Although it's tempting to panic and self-diagnose, it may be best to call your doctor if you have eaten cantaloupe within the past several weeks and have been experiencing a combination of the above symptoms.

As for eating cantaloupe, I'd say that avoidance is the best policy in this case. Leave those slimy melons out of the fruit salad, please.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”