If you've bought cucumbers and you're not sure what grower they came from, you should throw them away and clean any surfaces they touched, officials recommend. The Food and Drug Administration has announced a recall for cucumbers grown by Florida-based Bedner Growers and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Sales between April 29 and May 19, reports NPR. The FDA said the cucumbers have been linked to a salmonella outbreak, with 26 cases reported in 15 states: Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Nine people have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported.
The FDA said the cucumbers were sent to retailers, distribution centers, wholesalers, and food service distributors across the country. "Cucumbers may have been sold individually or in smaller packages, with or without a label that may not bear the same brand, product name, or best by date," the agency said. The CDC said some salmonella cases were reported among passengers on cruise ships that sailed out of Florida, the AP reports.
Cases were reported as far back as April 2, according to the CDC, but the recall notice didn't include older cucumbers because they've already passed their shelf life. The AP reports that the outbreak was detected during a follow-up inspection after a salmonella outbreak linked to the same grower sickened more than 500 people last year. Investigators linked that outbreak to untreated canal water used by Bedner Growers and another grower, Thomas Produce Company. (More cucumbers stories.)