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.

Bedner Growers Inc. of Boynton Beach, FL, is one of the growers linked to last year’s outbreak of Salmonella Africana and Salmonella Braenderup, which infected 551 people 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, the Food and Drug Administration, and state and local public health and regulatory officials are collecting different types of data to investigate the new multistate  Salmonella Montevideo outbreak.

The 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 and May 19 while the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with whole cucumbers in their home who can’t tell wher 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.

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

The 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.

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 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.

2024 Cucumber Salmonella Outbreak
The FDA and CDC, in collaboration with state and local partners, investigated a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Africana and Salmonella Braenderup infections with 551 illnesses in 34 states and the District of Columbia. As reported by CDC, as of Aug. 22, 2024, this outbreak is over.

Laboratory, epidemiological, and traceback data have determined that cucumbers from Bedner Growers Inc., of Boynton Beach, FL, and Thomas Produce Company of Boca Raton, FL, are likely sources of illnesses in this outbreak; however, these growers do not account for all the illnesses in this outbreak. Additionally, Bedner Growers Inc.’s and Thomas Produce Company’s cucumber growing and harvesting season is over.

In 2024 the FDA conducted onsite inspections at Bender Growers Inc. and Thomas Produce Company and collected samples. Salmonella Braenderup was detected in samples of canal water at both farms. Whole Genome Sequencing analysis determined that the water used by Thomas Produce Company contained Salmonella that is a match to a strain of Salmonella Braenderup that caused some of the illnesses in this outbreak. Additionally, as previously reported, the water used by Bedner Growers Inc. also contained Salmonella that was a match to a different strain of Salmonella Braenderup that caused some of the illnesses in this outbreak.

Additional types of Salmonella were detected in both soil and water samples collected at both Bedner Growers, Inc. and Thomas Produce Company. Multiple other strains of Salmonella, unrelated to this outbreak investigation, found at Bedner Growers, Inc. and Thomas Produce Company, matched clinical isolates from illnesses in the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s (NCBI) database that occurred in 2024 and previous years.