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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a recall of cucumbers grown by Bedner Growers, Inc. and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Sales, Inc., due to a multistate salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 26 people.
According to a news release from the FDA on Monday, the Florida-based companies distributed the cucumbers to restaurants, wholesalers, retailers, and distribution centers beginning April 29. The agency is still working to determine where the potentially contaminated produce was sold.
The FDA warned that the affected cucumbers may have been sold individually or in smaller packages, possibly without any label or branding. For commercial buyers, the products were labeled as “supers,” “selects,” or “plains.”
During a follow-up inspection in April, FDA investigators collected a cucumber sample that tested positive for Salmonella Montevideo, a strain that matched recent clinical samples from patients. This inspection followed a previous outbreak of Salmonella Africana last year, also linked to Bedner Growers, Inc. Notably, Fresh Start Produce Sales, Inc. had issued another cucumber recall earlier in 2024 for possible salmonella contamination.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), salmonella is a bacterium that causes illness through consumption of contaminated food or water, or through contact with animals and their environments. Symptoms typically appear between six hours and six days after infection and can include stomach cramps, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Illness usually lasts up to a week.
Salmonella Montevideo is a subtype of Salmonella enterica, a leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States and globally. The CDC estimates it causes approximately 1.35 million infections, 26,500 hospitalizations, and 420 deaths in the U.S. annually.
“Children under five, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk for severe infections,” the FDA noted.
As of Friday, 26 people across 15 states have been infected, including residents of Florida, Alabama, California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. At least nine people have been hospitalized, and 11 out of 13 interviewed patients reported eating cucumbers prior to becoming ill.
The FDA urges consumers, restaurants, and retailers to dispose of any potentially contaminated cucumbers and to thoroughly clean and sanitize any surfaces or containers the produce may have touched.
Businesses are also advised to notify their customers and discard affected cucumbers. If uncertain whether a product is part of the recall, the FDA recommends contacting suppliers for confirmation. In the absence of certainty, cucumbers should be discarded and storage areas sanitized.
The FDA’s investigation into the outbreak is ongoing.
