Canteloupe Melons

[BeBlueOP]

Looking for some reassurance/ advice.

On Friday, I cut fresh a cantaloupe melon and ate only the inner part, not the rind.
I later found out that these Melons are higher risk for Listeria, which are on the rind.
I will always wash fruit and veg that I eat, however I did not think to wash the rind before I cut it…
I’ve read that the knife can transfer this bacteria, and I’m now panicking if there is a risk of listeriosis which could be hard to detect.

Beat advice I ever got in pregnancy was stick to the NHS official guidelines and apart from that, avoid Google like the plague.
I had huge cravings for sweet canteloupe melon in my first pregnancy, it was one of the only things I could keep down in the first trimester! That pregnancy is now a healthy and feisty 4 year old girl (who incidentally, absolutely loves melon!)

sell2223 - thank you for this! Could I ask whether you opted for a whole melon to cut yourself, or the pre-cut slices please?

Always a whole melon

Listeria bacteria and the toxoplasmosis parasite can be present in soil which is why the guidelines are to wash fruit and veg thoroughly to remove any traces of soil.
The risk is obviously higher for fruit/veg that grow in or directly on the soil like carrots, potatoes, melons etc. Potatoes you never eat raw so this is not a concern for toxo/listeria but it IS worth washing raw fruit well before you cut it even if you don’t eat the skin. Re the previous post, the NHS guidelines do recommend doing this.
OP I wouldn’t worry about the melon you did eat but do continue to wash thoroughly going forward.
I’ve seen many posts on MN from people saying they’ve never had listeria before so they probably won’t get it now but this is not quite accurate - pregnant women are around 13 times more prone to listeriosis compared to general population because we are immuno compromised according to RCOG

It's true, there is an increased risk of listeria in pregnancy for the reasons mentioned by pp but even then it is only 12 cases per 100,000 pregnant women (compared to 0.7 cases per 100,000 in the general population).
The risk is very, very small and it's important to keep it all in perspective when you consider all the other things you're told to think about in pregnancy.

Yes, wash your fruit and veg, but don't stress yourself out about something you've already eaten being contaminated by a knife used for cutting it. Any risk is tiny and you will come across so much more day to day with a similar level of risk, you'd drive yourself crazy thinking about it all.

All the NHS says is that it recommends washing all fruit and veg before you eat it. It's a one liner and there is no mention about melons specifically.

Eater of many cantaloupe during pregnancy, including local farm produce types with dirt on the rind.
Can confirm I’d nibble while slicing and love to nip the last bit off the rind.
At best I would lightly rinse any visible dirt off the rind. That baby is a healthy whopper of a chunk now and getting into everything. :)

This is NOT a concern, please stop worrying.