TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- The president of Honduras dismissed as "unjust" a U.S. alert urging consumers to discard Honduran cantaloupes after a salmonella outbreak sickened 59, including at least 14 in the Pacific Northwest.

Cantaloupe

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned grocers to toss melons shipped by a Honduran company and suggested shoppers check with stores to see where recently purchased melons came from.

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya called the move "extreme and imprudent," noting that the melons were contaminated on their peel, not inside, meaning they may have come in contact with salmonella bacteria after they were shipped.

Trade Minister Fredys Cerrato meanwhile called for the FDA to release details of studies it performed on the tainted cantaloupe to prove it was in fact from Honduras -- where there has been no corresponding outbreak. .