Bedner cucumbers are back, making people sick once again

Whole cucumbers grown by Bedner Growers Inc. and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Inc. are linked to a multistate outbreak of Salmonella in several states that began April 29, 2025, and continues to this past Monday, May 19, 2025.

Bedner Growers, Inc., of Boynton Beach, Florida, is one of the growers linked to last year’s outbreak of Salmonella Africana and Salmonella Braenderup, infections with 551 illnesses in 34 states and the District of Columbia.  Salmonella Braenderup was detected in canal water samples at Bedner Growers’ farm.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and state and local public health and regulatory officials are collecting different types of data to investigate the new multistate  Salmonella Montevideo outbreak.

CDC advises businesses not to sell or serve whole cucumbers grown by Bedner Growers Inc. and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Inc. between April 29, 2025, and May 19,  2025, while the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with whole cucumbers in their home who can’t tell where they are from should throw them out.

Epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback data show that cucumbers may be contaminated with Salmonella, making people sick.

Epidemiologic data

As of May 19, 2025, 26 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella have been reported from 15 states. Seven sick people reported taking a cruise seven days before becoming ill, all departing from locations in Florida.

Sick people were aboard five different cruise ships that departed the United States between March 30 and April 12. Illnesses started from April 2, 2025, to April 28, 2025. Of 23 people with information available, nine have been hospitalized, with no deaths yet reported.

CDC and FDA figures indicate that the number of sick people in this outbreak was likely much higher than the reported number, and this outbreak may not have been limited to the states with known illnesses.  This is because many people recover without medical care and are not tested for Salmonella. In addition, recent illnesses may not yet be reported, as it usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak.

Public health officials collect many different types of information from sick people, including their age, race, ethnicity, other demographics, and the foods they ate the week before they got ill. This information provides clues to help investigators identify the source of the outbreak.

Victims in the current outbreak range from 2 to 69 years, with the median age being 53. Seventy-five (75) percent are white,  25 percent are Black, and 14 percent are Hispanic. The linked cucumbers have so far infected no Native Americans or Asian Americans.

State and local public health officials are interviewing people about the foods they ate the week before they got sick. Of the 13 interviewed, 11 (85 percent) reported eating cucumbers. This percentage was significantly higher than the 50 percent of respondents who reported eating cucumbers in the FoodNet Population Survey. This survey helps estimate how often people eat foods linked to diarrheal illness. 

This difference suggests that people in this outbreak got sick from eating cucumbers. Sick people on cruise ships reported eating cucumbers while on board. Three people traveled on the same boat.

Laboratory and traceback data

Public health investigators use the PulseNet system to identify illnesses that may be part of this outbreak. CDC PulseNet manages a national database of DNA fingerprints of bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses. DNA fingerprinting is performed on bacteria using whole-genome sequencing (WGS). WGS showed that bacteria from sick people’s samples are closely related genetically. This suggests that people in this outbreak got sick from the same food.

People reported buying and eating cucumbers from various locations, including grocery stores, restaurants, hospitals, and cruise ships. The FDA’s traceback investigation identified Bedner Growers Inc. as the common cucumber grower in this outbreak.

The FDA inspected Bedner Farms Inc. in April 2025 as a follow-up to a previous outbreak. During that inspection, environmental samples were collected. One environmental sample was identified as the outbreak strain of Salmonella. Based on the timing of illnesses in this outbreak, the CDC and FDA are concerned that contaminated cucumbers may still be within their shelf life.

WGS analysis of 25 people’s samples did not predict antibiotic resistance. One person’s sample predicted resistance to trimethoprim. More information is available at the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) site. Most people with Salmonella illness recover without antibiotics. However, if antibiotics are needed, this resistance is unlikely to affect the choice of antibiotic used to treat most people.

To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click he