Untreated water linked to salmonella outbreak in cucumbers that sickened 450 people in the US

Untreated water used by a Florida cucumber grower is a likely source of salmonella food poisoning that sickened nearly 450 people in the U.S. this spring, federal health officials said Tuesday.

But that producer doesn’t account for all the cucumber-related illnesses and 125 hospitalizations reported from late March to early June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Salmonella found in untreated canal water used by Bedner Growers Inc. of Boynton Beach, Fla., matched a strain of the bacteria that has caused some of the illnesses reported in more than 30 states and Washington, D.C.. Additional types of salmonella were detected in soil and water samples collected at the site, FDA officials said.

Bedner Growers supplied sales for Fresh Start of Delray Beach, Fla., which recalled boxes of cucumbers in late May after the first illnesses were reported. Bedner Growers also provided cucumbers to several locations where sick people reported buying or eating the product, the FDA said.

Researchers originally said there were two salmonella outbreaks possibly linked to cucumbers, but they combined them into one due to several similarities, including the timing and type of food. Nearly 70% of sick people surveyed reported eating cucumbers before getting sick, the FDA said. The investigation continues.

Bedner Growers’ cucumber growing and harvesting season has ended. There is no product from the farm on the market, the FDA said, so there is likely no ongoing risk to the public.

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