U.S. Food and Drug Administration announces a cucumber recall as 20 people fall ill due to salmonella outbreak.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a recall for cucumbers grown by Bedner Growers, Inc., and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Sales, Inc., because of a multi-state salmonella outbreak. Over 20 people have become unwell.

According to a press release from the FDA on Monday, the Florida-based companies have been distributing the cucumbers to restaurants, wholesalers, retailers, and distribution centres since the 29th of April until now. The FDA is still trying to find out exactly where these possibly contaminated vegetables were sold.

“Cucumbers may have been sold individually or in smaller packages, with or without a label that may not bear the same brand, product name, or best by date,” the FDA warned. “For distributors, restaurants, and retailers who have purchased these cucumbers, the products were labelled as either being ‘supers,’ ‘selects,’ or ‘plains.'”

Last month, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspectors carried out a follow-up inspection of the cucumbers. They took a sample that tested positive for Salmonella Montevideo and “matched recent clinical samples from ill people,” according to the FDA. This inspection followed a Salmonella Africana outbreak last year, linked to Bedner Growers, Inc. Fresh Start Produce Sales, Inc., also recalled whole cucumbers in 2024 due to possible Salmonella contamination.

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Salmonella is a bacterium that can make people ill. This happens when they eat contaminated food, drink contaminated water, or touch animals, their faeces, or the areas where they live. Symptoms can include stomach cramps, diarrhoea, nausea, and vomiting, which can start between six hours and six days after infection. These symptoms can last up to seven days.

Salmonella Montevideo is a type of Salmonella enterica bacteria.

The CDC states that these bacteria are “a leading cause of foodborne illness, hospitalisations, and deaths in the United States and worldwide.”

The bacteria cause approximately 1.35 million infections in the U.S. each year.

“Children younger than five, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to have severe infections,” the FDA said.

As of Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that at least 26 people had fallen ill due to the outbreak across 15 states. These states include Florida, Alabama, California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee.

Nine of the affected individuals have been admitted to hospital. Furthermore, 11 out of the 13 patients who were interviewed said they had eaten cucumbers.

“Consumers, restaurants, and retailers who purchased or received potentially contaminated products, including wholesale products, should carefully clean and sanitize any surfaces or containers that it touched,” the FDA recommended.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has advised that restaurants, retailers, and distributors who may have received contaminated cucumbers should dispose of them and inform their customers. Anyone unsure whether they’ve bought these cucumbers should contact their suppliers to check. If there’s still any doubt, they should bin the cucumbers and thoroughly clean the areas where they were kept.

The FDA’s investigation into the outbreak is still ongoing.