"Unjust, Extreme and Imprudent"

Luis of the Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group provides this link on Honduran reaction to the FDA alert. Again, the question arises, where was the contamination introduced? From the story in the IHT:

The president of Honduras on Sunday dismissed as "unjust" a U.S. alert urging consumers to discard Honduran cantaloupes after a salmonella outbreak sickened 59, saying the U.S. presented no evidence that the bacteria originated in his country.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Saturday warned grocers to remove melons shipped by the Honduran company Agropecuaria Montelibano from their stock and suggested shoppers check with stores to see where recently purchased melons came from. It is also seeking to hold the company's future cantaloupe shipments to the U.S.

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya called the move "extreme and imprudent," noting that the melons were contaminated on their peel, not inside, meaning they may have come in contact with salmonella bacteria after they were shipped.

"It's unjust that the (U.S.) has declared a unilateral health alert without any laboratory or clinical tests," he told reporters.

Trade Minister Fredys Cerrato meanwhile called for the FDA to release details of studies it performed on the tainted cantaloupe to prove it was in fact from Honduras — where there has been no corresponding outbreak of salmonella.