Federal officials said that more illnesses and possibly more deaths may be linked to listeria outbreak in cantaloupe in coming weeks considering that incubation period for this bacteria can be a month or even longer.

Meaning, anybody who ate the contaminated cantaloupe last week, may not immediately get sick until about October.

"We will see more cases likely through October," FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said.

The outbreak has caused at least 72 illnesses, including 16 deaths in 18 states, making it the deadliest food outbreak in the United States in more than a decade.

Contaminated cantaloupes produced by Jensen Farms in Colorado should be thrown out. When in doubt of the origin of the fruit, consumers are advised not to eat it.

Listeria may be fatal to the elderly and those with compromised immune system. It is also dangerous to pregnant women because it is easily passed to the fetus.

"If it's not Jensen Farms, it's OK to eat but if you can't confirm it's not Jensen Farms, then it's best to throw it out." said Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC.

Jensen Farms of Holly, Colorado says it shipped cantaloupes to about 25 states and their product is often sold or resold, and thus, they are not always aware of where their products went. FDA said that illnesses have been discovered in other states that were not on the shipping list of Jensen farms.

Recalled products according to FDA may be labelled "Colorado Grown," "Distributed by Frontera Produce," "Jensenframs.com," or "Sweet Rocky Fords". Also, not all of the recalled cantaloupes are labelled with a sticker.

Negating an earlier statement, FDA said that none of the cantaloupes had been shipped abroad.