Farm traced to listeria outbreak files for bankruptcy

DENVER (AP) - A Colorado farm that was traced to a listeria outbreak in cantaloupe last year has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Jensen Farms declined to comment on its filing Friday. Its attorney Jim Markus told The Denver Post the filing should free up millions of dollars in insurance and other funds that could be distributed to victims.

The outbreak was blamed for 32 deaths. It infected 146 people in 28 states. Federal investigators have said old, hard-to-clean equipment at Jensen Farms and pools of dirty water on the floor probably were to blame.

Court documents show the farm had $4.8 million in revenue in the past 12 months. It lists $2.1 million in assets, $2.5 million in liabilities, and $1.6 million in payments outstanding from food distributor Frontera Produce.