Sixty-eight people have been sickened and 18 have been hospitalized in a salmonella outbreak linked to whole cucumbers sold in 26 states and parts of Canada.
"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," the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement posted Friday.
In a company recall notice posted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website last Thursday, Sunfed Produce LLC said the affected cucumbers were sold between Oct. 12 and Nov. 26 in bulk cardboard boxes marked with the SunFed label or in generic white boxes or black plastic crates with stickers naming the grower.
“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,” Sunfed President Craig Slate said in the recall announcement. “We require all of our growers to strictly comply with the FDA food safety requirements.”
The affected cucumbers were distributed in: 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, Arizona-based Sunfed said.
They were also sold in parts of Canada, including the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Calgary, Ontario and Saskatchewan.
Consumers should check whether their cucumbers match those that were recalled and to avoid consuming or distributing any suspicious produce, the company advised.
This is not the first time cucumbers have been recalled for potential salmonella contamination: Earlier this year, at least 551 people were likely sickened by salmonella and 155 were hospitalized in south Florida after eating tainted produce.
Every year, salmonella causes about 1.35 million infections in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While healthy people infected with salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, the bacteria can cause far more serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems.
In rare cases, salmonella infection can cause arterial infections (infected aneurysms), endocarditis (heart inflammation) and arthritis. Symptoms usually start six hours to six days after infection and can last four to seven days, the CDC says.
More information
The CDC has more on salmonella.