Can eating a half-cut cantaloupe the next day cause death? No, that's not true: Cut cantaloupes can remain fresh in the refrigerator for more than three days.
The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) published by @livinggenius on February 4, 2024. The video stated cantaloupes are one of "four foods that can kill you if you eat them the next day," (as translated from Korean to English by Lead Stories staff) and must be eaten within one day after cooking or processing.
The caption about cantaloupes in Korean reads, translated from Korean to English by Lead Stories staff:
If you cut open a cantaloupe in half, you must eat it all that day.
The acidity of the cantaloupe flesh is optimal for bacterial growth.
129 people were infected with salmonella, and eight people died after eating cantaloupe melons in the United States and Canada.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Mon Feb 12 17:11:12 2024 UTC)
According to the USDA, melons are susceptible to bacteria as harmful pathogens such as salmonella and E. Coli have been found to stick to the exterior of melons. The combination of high water content and low acidity found in melons becomes a common breeding ground for bacterial growth that travels through the melon rind pores into the interior of the melon.
The casualties mentioned in the TikTok video refer to a specific batch of imported melons that caused several deaths. According to the CDC, the first case of the salmonella outbreak in the United States and Canada occurred on October 16, 2023, and the final investigation reported six deaths. Canada also reported 190 laboratory-confirmed cases of salmonella tied to the same cantaloupes reported in the United States, with a total of nine reported deaths. The investigation closed on January 19, 2024, after revealing the multistate outbreak of salmonella was linked to imported cantaloupes from Mexico. AP News (archived here) reported that two specific brands of imported cantaloupes, Malichita and Rudy, were contaminated with salmonella.
Cantaloupes are also susceptible to listeria. When a listeria outbreak occurred in the United States due to cantaloupes in 2011, the CDC reported cantaloupes had a shelf life of about two weeks.
The USDA stated the storage life of melons is 15 to 21 days. An ultimate shelf life guide website, StillTasty (archived here), stated that cantaloupes could stay fresh in the refrigerator for three to five days and be frozen if needed. According to a Master Class website article (archived here) on storing cantaloupes, whole cantaloupes have a shelf life of up to five days in the refrigerator, and cantaloupe slices can be stored for up to three days.
