Salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers, more than 20 sickened in 15 states
Health officials are investigating a new salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers sold across the nation after cases were detected in more than a dozen states, federal officials announced this week
Cucumbers grown by Florida-based Bedner Growers and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Sales are linked to a salmonella outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in notices published May 19.
The vegetables were distributed to retailers, distribution centers, wholesalers, and food service distributors this spring. The agency did not identify specifically where the cucumbers were sold.
So far, no deaths have been reported. But 26 people in 15 states have been sickened by salmonella, with nine patients needing to be hospitalized, federal officials announced.
Paste BN has reached out to Bedner.
Inspection links cucumbers to salmonella
As part of a follow-up inspection in April 2025, FDA investigators collected an environmental sample from Bedner Growers that tested positive for salmonella and matched recent clinical samples from ill people.
The recent follow-up inspection stemmed from a 2024 Salmonella Africana and Salmonella Braenderup outbreaks linked to cucumbers grown at the same Florida-based farm. Recalled cucumbers from that outbreak sickened about 551 people in 34 states, the FDA previously reported. Of the patients, 125 people were hospitalized, the CDC reported, and the outbreak ended in late August 2024. No deaths were reported.
Last month's FDA’s traceback investigation identified Bedner "as the common grower of cucumbers in the most recent outbreak," the FDA wrote in its announcement.
"Do not sell or serve whole cucumbers grown by Bedner Growers Inc. and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Inc. between April 29, 2025 to May 19, 2025," the FDA wrote.
What cucumbers are linked to the salmonella outbreak?
The whole cucumbers were grown by Bedner Growers, Inc., in Boynton Beach, Florida.
They were distributed by Fresh Start Produce and sold from April 29 through May 19, the FDA reported.
Salmonella outbreak across 15 states
As of May 19, the salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers has sickened 26 people in the following 15 states:
- Alabama
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- North Carolina
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Virginia
What is salmonella?
Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and fatal infections in children, the elderly, and other people with weakened immune systems, according to the CDC.
Most people infected with salmonella start developing symptoms 12 to 72 hours after eating the contaminated product. Diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps are the main symptoms.
Most people recover without treatment, but in rare circumstances the infection can require hospitalization, according to the CDC. Pregnant women are also at higher risk of developing an infection from it and should seek medical attention if symptoms arise.
Consumers who ate the affected cucumbers and have symptoms should contact their health care provider to report their symptoms, the FDA said, and receive care.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealu