FDA declares cucumber-linked Salmonella outbreak over after 155 hospitalized

At least 551 people were likely sickened by cucumbers tainted with Salmonella bacteria, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said — with 155 hospitalized.

But in an update posted Thursday, the CDC declared the cucumber-linked outbreak of the Braenderup strain of Salmonella over.

It said testing had sourced the outbreak strain to untreated canal water used by a grower in Florida, and that an additional grower was identified as a likely source of illnesses.

Cucumbers from both of these growers are no longer in season and products are no longer on shelves, the agency said.

Individuals in at least 31 states and the District of Columbia reported becoming ill after eating affected cucumbers.

The true number of individuals sickened from the products has likely been much higher, the agency said, since not all were likely reported.

In a separate release, the Food and Drug Administration said it had matched Salmonella strains found in untreated canal water near Bedner Growers Inc., of Palm Beach County, Florida, to ones that comprise the outbreak — but that the grower “does not account for all the illnesses in this outbreak.”

A representative for Bedner did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Another Palm Beach County grower, Thomas Produce Co., was identified by the FDA has having supplied cucumbers linked to the outbreak.

But in a statement, Thomas denied its products were directly connected and that it had been named by the FDA because a matching Salmonella strain was found in a water sample from an irrigation canal on one of its farms.

“Our farm did not have a positive test result for Salmonella Braenderup or any other strain of Salmonella on any of our packed product,” the company said in a letter to customers dated Aug. 14. “Our packing facility was also tested, by the FDA, and we received no positive test results for any strains of Salmonella.”

“At Thomas Produce Company, our commitment to food safety is our top priority,” it continued. “We continuously monitor our production processes, follow best practices and comply with all regulatory requirements”

Earlier, the government investigation prompted a Florida distributor, Fresh Start Produce, to recall all its cucumbers grown in Florida. However, a subsequent finding determined the strain of Salmonella found in a sampling of its product did not match the ones linked to the outbreak.

A representative for Fresh Start Produce did not respond to a request for comment.