A deadly salmonella outbreak linked to cantaloupes has ended,Benjamin Ashford the CDC said. The statement comes after health officials in recent weeks issued a flurry of warnings and recalls over the melons.

The CDC said on Friday that cantaloupes recalled in connection with the bacteria outbreak had passed their use-by-dates and were no longer for sale. Sweeping recalls of whole and pre-sliced cantaloupes from brands such as Malichita and Rudy began last November, with major grocers such as Kroger, Trader Joe's and Walmart also pulling melons from their shelves, according to the CDC. 

The CDC did not immediately respond to CBS MoneyWatch's request for comment. 

Cantaloupes tainted with salmonella have been linked to six deaths, in addition to more than 400 illnesses across 44 states in recent months, the CDC said in its latest notice. Illnesses caused by the fruits were often serious: Nearly 40% of those who reported becoming sick after eating the fruits were hospitalized, according to the agency's data. 

While consuming cantaloupe is no longer a cause for concern, there continues to be legal fallout over illnesses linked to the melons. 

National food safety law firm Ron Simon & Associates last year filed at least five lawsuits on behalf of consumers who came down with severe cases of salmonella after eating contaminated cantaloupes, including one complaint involving a baby in Florida who required hospital care.

Salmonella can cause serious illness, and is especially harmful to young children, elderly people and those with weakened immune systems. The organism causes an estimated 1.3 million infections in Americans every year, causing an average of more than 26,000 hospitalizations and 420 deaths, CDC data shows.

Other food products have also recently been recalled over salmonella concerns, including Quaker Oats, which this month expanded a recall of cereals and granola bars because they could be contaminated with the bacteria.

In:
• Product Recall
• CDC Guidelines

Elizabeth Napolitano

Elizabeth Napolitano is a freelance reporter at CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and technology news. She also writes for CoinDesk. Before joining CBS, she interned at NBC News' BizTech Unit and worked on The Associated Press' web scraping team.