Once again, consumers are grappling with a new salmonella outbreak stemming from a familiar source: Bedner Growers in Florida.
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Having previously been linked to a similar outbreak, this recurrence has our health officials scrambling for answers.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports that cucumbers grown by Bedner Growers and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Sales have resulted in illnesses across 15 states, affecting 26 people.
This situation mirrors last year’s incident involving over 550 illnesses linked to the same grower.
Fortunately, though nine people have been hospitalized, no deaths have emerged from this outbreak as of yet.
Cucumbers associated with this outbreak were distributed between April 29 and May 19, 2025.
Illnesses began surfacing from April 2 and continued until April 28. Such a timeline raises questions about the efficacy of inspections and preventative measures that should have been bolstered following the 2024 incident.
The ongoing issue surfaced during a follow-up inspection linked to the prior outbreak, during which untreated canal water was identified as a potential source of contamination.
The strains of salmonella identified this time were found to match samples taken from those who have reported illness, underscoring the severity of this oversight and the repetitive health risks posed by this grower.
“The outbreak was detected as part of a follow-up inspection in April to a 2024 outbreak that sickened 551 people and led to 155 hospitalizations in 34 states and Washington, D.C.,” US health officials said, cited by Reuters.
Interestingly, the FDA points out that organic cucumbers appear to be unaffected by this current contamination, a fact that consumers may want to consider when making food purchases.
Retailers with potentially compromised stock are advised to alert their customers immediately, while consumers without a clear source for their cucumbers should discard them as a precautionary measure.
On a broader scale, some consumers reportedly fell ill after consuming tainted cucumbers on cruise ships leaving from Florida.
This exposure underscores the widespread distribution network for these cucumbers and the challenge in isolating all potential points of contamination.
Symptoms of salmonella poisoning involve diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and severe cases could require hospitalization, heightening the importance of tackling this issue decisively.
“Retailers should notify consumers who may have bought the tainted produce. If consumers don’t know the source of cucumbers, they should throw them away, officials said,” KSAT reports.
While U.S. health officials continue their investigation, it’s crucial to enforce more rigorous agricultural standards to prevent such outbreaks—ensuring products are safe for consumers from farm to table.
New salmonella outbreak tied to same Florida grower with tainted cucumbers last year | Click on the image to read the full story https://t.co/XZfRBsnaSX
— WPBF 25 News (@WPBF25News) May 20, 2025
