FDA: Untreated canal water one potential source of salmonella outbreaks in field cucumbers

The Food and Drug Administration reports untreated water used by a Florida cucumber grower is a potential source of salmonella that sickened nearly 450 people.

The FDA said it originally reported separate multistate outbreaks of Salmonella Africana and Salmonella Braenderup, but combined the two investigations as they shared similarities in when and where the reported illnesses occurred, the demographics of ill people and more.

The FDA said laboratory, epidemiological and traceback data determined field cucumbers from Bedner Growers of Boynton Beach, Fla., are a likely source of illnesses in this outbreak, according to a USDA update. FDA said, though, that Bedner Growers does not account for all the illnesses in this outbreak.

The administration said it conducted an on-site inspection at Bedner Growers, which supplies Fresh Start Produce Sales. The FDA said it detected Salmonella Braenderup in samples of untreated canal water used by Bedner Growers. The administration said that genome sequencing determined the salmonella found in the untreated canal water matched the strain that caused some of the illnesses in the outbreak, and it also found additional types of salmonella in both soil and water samples collected at Bedner Growers.

More than 449 people have been reported infected with Salmonella Africana and Salmonella Braenderup in 31 states and the District of Columbia as of July 1, according to the USDA update.

Bedner Growers has completed its growing and harvesting season and the cucumbers involved in the outbreak are not available for purchase, the report said.

The administration said that based on traceback information, Bedner Growers supplied cucumbers to multiple points of service where ill people reported purchasing or eating cucumbers. The FDA said it will continue to conduct traceback to identify other possible contamination points.