More salmonella cases linked to cucumber recall

Salmonella infections linked to contaminated cucumbers appeared in three more states, sickening 34 more people and sending 14 to the hospital, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC) said in an update on June 12. So far, there have been 196 illnesses resulting in 58 hospitalizations in 28 states and Washington, D.C. No deaths have been reported. Officials began

looking into the issue after samples of cucumbers collected by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture from retail locations in the state tested positive for salmonella. A sample later

provided by Fresh Start Produce Sales, a Florida company, tested positive for the bacteria, said a separate statement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). An investigation is

trying to determine whether there are any additional sources of contamination and whether these or other products are linked to more illnesses, said the FDA and CDC. Of the 85 people

infected who were interviewed about the foods they ate in the week before they got sick, 74 percent reported eating cucumbers. A separate investigation is underway for an outbreak of a

different strain of salmonella, affecting 185 people in 24 states. Both incidents are similar in time, location and affected demographics, said the FDA. Investigators are working to

determine whether the same food source could be responsible for both outbreaks. The recalled cucumbers were grown in Florida and distributed between May 17 and May 21 to retail distribution

centers and wholesalers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and

West Virginia. However, the products may have been shipped to additional states or repackaged for stores. Cucumbers sold by the company come from a variety of growers, and it is likely that

the supplier of the potentially contaminated cucumbers is no longer growing and harvesting cucumbers for the season, the FDA noted. Mini cucumbers and English cucumbers are not affected by

the recall.