The batch of cantaloupes had been shipped out over a period from July 29 through September 10 to twenty-five states, including Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming.

The CDC report also stated that, as Listeria "only sickens the elderly, pregnant women and others with compromised immune systems", the median age of all the people that had been infected was 78.

Fatalities occurred in Colorado (9), Indiana (1), Kansas (3), Louisiana (2), Maryland (1), Missouri (3), Montana (1) Nebraska (1), New Mexico (5), New York (2), Oklahoma (1), Texas (2), and Wyoming (2).

[1] Listeria infections can cause pregnant women to miscarry; the first miscarriage attributed to the 2011 outbreak was reported in early October, in a woman living in Iowa.

Pregnant women often are advised to avoid foods, such as unpasteurized cheese and hot dogs, that are known to have the potential to carry Listeria, but fruits such as cantaloupe had not previously been identified as sources of concern.

[22][23] Furthermore, bacteria growth may have been aided by condensation stemming from the lack of a pre-cooling step to remove field heat from the cantaloupe before cold storage.

The FDA made the public announcement for the recall after Listeria infection was confirmed by Jensen Farms at its main Colorado branch.

[28] The FDA has stated in response to the extensive bacterial outbreak that it is "yet another reason to fully implement the Food Safety Modernization Act."

"[22] On September 15, a lawsuit was filed against Jensen Farms by the first person affected by the contaminated cantaloupe crop, who had fallen ill and been kept in the hospital for several weeks.