Cucumbers shipped to restaurants and stores in Massachusetts have been linked to a multistate salmonella outbreak, health agencies warned.
Arizona-based SunFed Produce is recalling all sizes of whole fresh American cucumbers sold between Oct. 12 and Nov. 26, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced this week.
The salmonella outbreak has sickened 68 people in 19 states, including five people in Massachusetts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention live outbreak map showed as of Saturday morning.
The FDA said the cucumbers were shipped to customers located in the states of Massachusetts, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington & Wisconsin and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Calgary, Saskatchewan, and Ontario.
SunFed initiated the recall after the FDA notified them that the cucumbers were associated with reported salmonellosis illnesses.
“As soon as we learned of this issue, we immediately acted to protect consumers. We are working closely with authorities and the implicated ranch to determine the possible cause,” Craig Slate, President at SunFed, said in a statement. “Here at SunFed, food safety and consumer health and wellness have been our priorities for more than 30 years. We require all of our growers to strictly comply with the FDA food safety requirements.”
People who bought cucumbers during the window should check with the store where they purchased them to see if the produce is part of the recall. They can also call SunFed’s recall hotline at 888-542-5849.
Salmonella can cause symptoms that begin six hours to six days. Most people recover without treatment within a week, but young children, people older than 65, and those with weakened immune systems can become seriously ill.
Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea and a fever higher than 102°F, diarrhea for more than 3 days that is not improving, bloody diarrhea, so much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down, signs of dehydration, such as not peeing much, dry mouth and throat, and feeling dizzy when standing up.
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