Recalled cantaloupe brands may be labeled with the "Rudy" or "Malichita" stickers. CDC photo

Two Fresno companies,  Crown Jewels Produce and Pacific Trellis Fruit dba Dulcinea, are among the suppliers issuing recalls of the potentially contaminated “Malichita” brand cantaloupes tied to a salmonella outbreak.

Crown Jewels’ recall was announced Nov. 22 for 1,960 boxes of Malichita / Z Farms cantaloupes sold between Oct. 31 and Nov. 9. The product was distributed to Ohio and California through retail and wholesale outlets.

Pacific Trellis’s Dec. 1 announcement involves 4,872 cases of Malichita brand cantaloupes sold Oct. 18-26 in California, Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, Wisconsin and Canada in various retail supermarkets.

At least eight people are suspected of dying due to the salmonella outbreak — three in the United States and five in Canada. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 230 illnesses reported in the U.S. and at least 96 have been hospitalized.

Other suppliers have issued recalls for cut cantaloupe sold in fruit cup, clamshell and tray products.

Whole cantaloupes that have been recalled have labels reading “Malichita” or “Rudy” and may have stickers saying “4050” or “Product of Mexico/produit du Mexique.”

The stores that received recalled pre-cut cantaloupe include ALDI, Walmart, Sprouts Farmers Market, Trader Joe, Kroger, KwikTrip, Vineyard, Bix Produce, Cut Fruit Express, TGD Cuts, LLC. No California store locations received shipments of the recalled cut cantaloupe. 

The FDA said health officials are continuing to investigate whether additional products are linked to illness and will continue providing updates. 

Health experts recommend consumers, restaurants and retailers check their freezers and throw away recalled fresh or cut cantaloupe frozen for later use, and anyone who purchased recalled cantaloupes should follow the FDA’s safe handling and cleaning advice and use “extra vigilance in cleaning and sanitizing any surfaces and containers” that may have come in contact with recalled products to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.