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Florida grower linked to back-to-back salmonella outbreaks tied to cucumbers

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Published  May 26, 2025 9:17pm EDT
Florida
FOX 13 News
Cucumbers under recall

Cucumbers under recall

Jordan Bowen reports.

The Brief

    • The FDA issued a recall last week after the contaminated cucumbers were linked to Bedner Growers in Boynton Beach.
    • It's the same grower responsible for a similar outbreak last year that sickened more than 500 people.
    • In last year's case, the FDA traced the cause of the outbreak to untreated canal water used to irrigate crops. The cause of this year's outbreak is still unclear.

TAMPA, Fla. - Cucumbers grown in Florida are part of the latest salmonella outbreak. The FDA issued a recall last week after the contaminated cucumbers were linked to Bedner Growers in Boynton Beach, which is the same grower responsible for a similar outbreak last year that sickened more than 500 people. 

Big picture view:

"It's a pretty unusual occurrence to see an outbreak happening again and again within a year from the same company," food safety attorney Bill Marler said.

RELATED: Cucumbers recalled after Salmonella sickens 26 in several states; 9 hospitalized

Marler has three decades of experience representing hundreds of victims sickened by contaminated food. In last year's case, the FDA traced the cause of the outbreak to untreated canal water used to irrigate crops. The cause of this year's outbreak is still unclear.

"This isn't the first cucumber outbreak that's occurred. They occur every couple of years, and they can be sometimes quite large and deadly. Usually they're linked to a water source where the water was contaminated by cattle feces or frogs or snakes," Marler said.

By the numbers:

The latest map from the CDC shows that as of Monday night, 26 people in 15 states have been sickened by the outbreak, including four people in Florida. So far, nine people have been hospitalized.

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"The concerning thing is that, over the last few days, we've seen fairly significant recalls, which tells me there's a lot of this product in the market. So I think unfortunately the number of ill people is likely to go up," Marler said.

Dig deeper:

Once consumed, it can take about 12 to 72 hours for salmonella symptoms to set in, like vomiting, diarrhea or dehydration. Antibiotics are one of the most effective treatments and while about 1.4 million Americans get salmonella every year, more than 99.5% of people survive it.

"The FDA's website has a lot of really good information about the recalls that are happening. If it's taking you a little bit too long to figure it out, there's a good adage in the food safety space, it's when in doubt, throw it out," Marler said.

FOX 13 reached out to Bedner Growers for comment and are still waiting to hear back. For more information on the latest outbreak, click here.

The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Jordan Bowen. 

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