Colorado Cantaloupe Growers Move To Restore Consumer Confidence And Their Reputation
Cantaloupe growers from Colorado’s Rocky Ford area are seeking help from federal and state agencies to develop a plan that will restore consumer confidence in the safety of melons grown in the region before the 2012 season.
Until the Jensen Farms cantaloupe Listeria outbreak this year, Rocky Ford, the birthplace of the U.S. cantaloupe industry, was known for producing cantaloupes with an especially sweet taste. Although Jensen Farms of Holly, Colo., is located about 84 miles east of Rocky Ford, the stickers on the tainted melon it sold read “Sweet Rocky Fords.”
Farmers have been growing cantaloupes and the Rocky Ford brand for 120 years, said grower Chuck Hanagan, a spokesman for growers from the Rocky Ford region. "And in all those years, we have never had a problem with our cantaloupe. But now we have been harmed by the listeria outbreak in cantaloupe far from here."
Colorado Agriculture Commissioner John Salazar met with about 20 growers on November 14 to discuss how to recover from the fallout of the cantaloupe Listeria outbreak, one of the deadliest in U.S. history.
“They (state officials) set forth a buffet of ideas and said they would help in any way they can and be a resource for us,” grower Chuck Hanagan, a spokesman for growers from the Rocky Ford region, told The Packer. “We are in the process of securing our name and defining our region.”
One of the ideas discussed was whether to establish a marketing order for the cantaloupe growers, according to the Packer story. Such an order could define the growing region, establish handling and food safety practices for growers and shippers and include a marketing fee.
But Hanagan said what the growers really need is public relations help form state and local agencies. He wants them to make it clear to consumers that the problem was with Jensen Farms, not in the Rocky Ford area.
"We have a history, we could throw our world-famous name in the dumpster and rename or we could vindicate our product," Hanagan told the Chieftan. "We want vindication."
