The US Food and Drug Administration has announced a recall of cucumber cultivated by Bedner Growers, Inc., and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Sales, Inc., due to a Salmonella epidemic with several states which was discarded by more than 20 people.
According to a press release from the FDA on Monday, companies based in Florida distributed cucumbers to restaurants, wholesalers, retailers and distribution centers from April 29 to the present day. The FDA is still working to determine where potentially contaminated vegetables were sold.
“Cucumbers may have been sold individually or in smaller plans, with or without a label that do not support the same brand, the same product name or the best per date,” warned the FDA. “For distributors, restaurants and retailers who bought these cucumbers, the products were labeled as” supers “, selections” or “plains”.
FDA investigators carrying out a cucumber monitoring inspection last month collected a sample that returned positive for Salmonella Montevideo and “equaled recent clinical samples of sick people,” the FDA said. The inspection was followed by an epidemic of Salmonella Africana linked to Bedge Growers, Inc. last year. Fresh Start Produce Sales, Inc., also published a reminder of whole cucumber in 2024 due to a possible contamination by Salmonella.
According to the centers for disease control and prevention, Salmonella is a bacteria that can abandon those who consume them by eating contaminated foods, drinking contaminated water or touching animals, their fecal material or in the fields in which they live. People who contract the disease can have stomach cramps, diarrhea, nauseous and vomiting from six hours to six days after infection, and symptoms can last up to seven days.
Salmonella Montevideo is a type of bacteria from Salmonella Enterica. According to the CDC, bacteria are “a main cause of food of food, hospitalizations and death in the United States and in the world”. Each year, bacteria cause approximately 1.35 million infections in the United States each year.
“Children under the age of five, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to have serious infections,” said FDA.
According to the FDA, Friday, at least 26 people had been brought up by the epidemic in 15 states on Friday, including Florida, Alabama, California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennesse.
Nine of the patients were hospitalized and 11 out of 13 patients who were interviewed said they had eaten cucumbers.
“Consumers, restaurants and retailers who have purchased or received potentially contaminated products, including wholesale products, must carefully clean and disinfect all the surfaces or containers it has affected,” the FDA recommended.
The FDA said that all restaurants, retailers or distributors who have potentially contaminated cucumbers should throw them away and inform customers. Those who do not know if they have bought cucumbers should contact their suppliers to ensure, but if they are still not sure, they should throw their cucumbers and disinfect the areas where they have been stored.
The FDA survey on the epidemic is underway.