I'm reading about this outbreak in the US and I cannot find information on WHY this happened or how to prevent eating contaminated produce. We wash/soak our produce in a milk bleach/water solution to kill any bacteria that would be on the surface. How does a person ingest bacteria from, in this case, a cantaloupe? Was the bacteria on the outside of the fruit and the interior became contaminated when they cut it? Or would the bacteria be systemic, i.e. would it be in the flesh of the fruit and if so, how did it get there? From using contaminated water or untreated manure on the crops? I can't seem to find an answer to this question on the internet news. Anyone?

Normally, fruit or vegs that are peeled are safe, so this one has me stumped, unless it got inside the flesh from the knife cutting through the contaminated skin when it was cut.

I recall reading … not finding it again this morning (not enough coffee either) … that the long, loooong road much of our food takes from field to table is part of the problem.  By the time it has passed through the hands of collectors, brokers, distributors, grocers, not only is the original source frequently lost but the storage conditions and the handling becomes part of the concern.  It isn't only the condition of the agricultural fields where the product was grown.  Too often it can be long weeks before the cantaloupe or anything else makes it to the grocer as it is shifted from cold storage to cold storage.  Ick.

I've rarely … ah, up to now …. washed melons before cutting but then I've backed away from buying any unless I know they're local or at least from in my state and reasonably fresh.  A small advantage to living in CA is the produce.  I try to avoid buying goods from Chile or marked international … that issue has become so pervasive that I find bagged garlic from China at farmer's section of our local flea market.  A favorite jaw-dropper was the grilled frozen corn from TJ's: picked in WA, shipped to Mexico, grilled, processed, bagged and marked FRESH.  When I questioned the company by email, the reply included that no one would buy grilled frozen corn processed in the states because of the added cost … funny, as the Mexican stamp is now the reason I'm NOT buying it again.  Our food system has deep, increasingly dark issues.  A reason why growing some of my own and buying local is becoming a set concern.