Following the announcement last week that Fresh Del Monte subsidiary Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. had filed a lawsuit against the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over an import alert that essentially bars cantaloupe grown at its Asuncion Mita farm in Guatemala from entering the US, the group has revealed that it has also moved to file a notice to sue Oregon Health Authority's Public Health Division and one of its officials.

Del Monte said that the notice to sue alerts the Oregon Health Authority’s Public Health Division of its conduct and 'misleading allegations' regarding Del Monte Fresh's imported cantaloupes as the source of a Salmonella outbreak earlier this year, despite what it says was a 'lack of sufficient factual basis'.

Notably, '`t`he FDA investigation ultimately found no connection between Del Monte Fresh cantaloupes and any cases of Salmonella Panama, including in Oregon,' the company said. 'FDA issued a notice ending the recall on July 29, 2011.'

Del Monte Fresh's claims against the FDA, which were taken out in the District Court forthe District of Maryland, are based on the FDA's 'erroneous speculation, unsupported by scientific evidence, that cantaloupes previously imported by Del Monte Fresh from a Guatemalan farm and packing facility were contaminated with the pathogen Salmonella', the group noted.

The group said that neither the FDA, nor any state health agency in the US, has offered evidence or data to support the FDA's action.

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