The Food and Drug Administration’s warning that cantaloupes from Agropecuaria Montelibano commercialized in the U.S. and Canada stores were linked with Salmonella Litchfield outbreak prompted criticism on behalf of Honduras’ president.

The U.S. federal agency on Saturday warned groceries to remove melons shipped by the Honduran agency from their stock and suggested customers check with stores to see where recently purchased melons came from. Moreover, it is also seeking to hold the company’s future cantaloupe shipments to the U.S.

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya called the FDA decision “extreme and imprudent,” as the melons were contaminated on their peel, not inside, meaning they may have come in contact with salmonella bacteria after they were shipped.

“It’s unjust that the (US) has declared a unilateral health alert without any laboratory or clinical tests,” he told reporters, according to the International Herald Tribune.

In addition, Trade Minister Fredys Cerrato asked the FDA to release details of studies it performed on the tainted cantaloupe to prove it was in fact from Honduras, where there has not been reported any case of salmonella infection.

He also added that Honduran agriculture experts would meet with FDA officials in Washington on Monday warning that the U.S. would have to compensate Agropecuaria Montelibano for its losses should the contaminated fruit be found to have other origins.

Nearly 50 people across 16 states and 9 people in Canada have fallen ill after eating melons from the Honduras manufacturer, according to the FDA. No deaths have been reported so far although 14 people have been hospitalized.

The states affected by salmonella outbreak include California, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

The FDA is further investigating this outbreak in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state partners.

Salmonella is a common bacterium that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Symptoms of salmonella include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Most people recover from salmonella illness without special treatment, but cases of severe diarrhea require medical attention and there’s a risk of infection spreading from the intestines to the bloodstream, a condition that could turn fatal.