100 Sickened in 23 States from Tainted Cucumbers!

United States: A multi-state salmonella outbreak connected to cucumbers has now been associated with 100 cases of the disease in 23 states, the US Food and Drug Administration noted on Thursday.

More about the news

That’s an increase from 68 cases documented by the FDA in its previous update back in early December.

According to the FDA, “Of the 90 people for whom information is available, 25 have been hospitalized,” and “No deaths have been reported.”

The US CDC announced its investigation in late November.

The CDC added on November 29, “Epidemiologic and traceback information shows that cucumbers grown by Agrotato, S.A. de C.V. in Sonora, Mexico, including recalled cucumbers from SunFed Produce LLC, may be contaminated with salmonella and may be making people sick,” US News reported.

An outbreak of salmonella linked to cucumbers has now been tied to 100 known cases of the illness across 23 states, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported Thursday. #SalmonellaOutbreakhttps://t.co/MbJRR5oY6E

— Star City News (@StarCityOnline) December 20, 2024

In a company recall notice posted to the US Food and Drug Administration website last Thursday, Sunfed Produce LLC said the affected cucumbers were sold in bulk cardboard boxes marked with the SunFed label or in generic white boxes or black plastic crates with stickers naming the grower from October 12 to November 26.

As Craig Slate, Sunfed President, stated, “As soon as we learned of this issue, we immediately acted to protect consumers. We are working closely with authorities and the implicated ranch to determine the possible cause,” US News reported.

“We require all of our growers to strictly comply with the FDA food safety requirements,” Slate added.

Prevalence of cases

The affected states include – Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, it said.

It was also sold in several territories of Canada, such as Alberta, Britain, Canada, Calgary, Ontario, and Saskatchewan.

Consumers should verify if they possess cucumbers similar to the ones that were recalled; they should not ingest or circulate any doubtful food products, as the company recommended.

Salmonella Outbreak Update: More illnesses have been reported and additional cucumbers and foods made with them were recalled.

Check your refrigerators and freezers for recalled products and do not eat them. Expiration dates are still current in some of these items.… pic.twitter.com/n2QQJf2HbM

— CDC (@CDCgov) December 19, 2024

In South Florida, at least 551 people were affected by salmonella, and 155 of them were hospitalized after eating contaminated produce earlier this year, US News reported.

Salmonella is responsible for 1.35 million average cases in the United States every year, as estimated by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

People with a healthy body get salmonella, and they get fever, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and abdominal pains; however, the bacteria is worse when it infects young children, frail, old individuals, or anyone who has a compromised immune system.