A multistate investigation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration has identified a Florida grower as a likely source in an outbreak caused by salmonella-tainted cucumbers.
Amidst the month-long investigation – during which 449 people in 31 states and the District of Columbia have reported salmonella illnesses – salmonella found in untreated canal water used by Bedner Growers, Inc., of Boynton Beach, Florida, matched the strain (Salmonella Braenderup) sickening some in the outbreak, the agencies said.
Additional salmonella strains were detected in soil and water samples collected at Bedner Growers, said the CDC and FDA, which are continuing its investigation to see if these strains caused illness in people.
Bedner Growers, the agencies said, supplies Fresh Start Produce Sales, Inc., of Delray, Florida, which on May 31 issued a recall of cucumbers grown in Florida that had been shipped to 14 states after some tested positive for salmonella.
There’s no ongoing risk to the public because Bedner Growers’ growing and harvesting season has ended and there are no cucumbers still in the marketplace, the agencies said, adding that Bedner Growers’ produce does not account for all the illnesses reported in the outbreak.
In the outbreak, 215 people were infected with the newly added Salmonella Braenderup. The other strain in the outbreak is Salmonella Africana.
Of the 449 total cases reported from March 11 to June 4, no deaths have been reported and 125 have been hospitalized, based on the information available from 360 people, the CDC says.