Forget sharks or airplanes or venomous snakes. These days, cantaloupe is more deadly than them all.

Listeria linked to the pale orange melon killed at least 33 Americans and sickened another 147 last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a new cantaloupe food poisoning outbreak involving salmonella is under way in 21 states, with 178 confirmed infections and two deaths.