TUESDAY, July 9, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. health officials have determined that untreated water used by a Florida cucumber grower is one likely source of salmonella poisoning that sickened nearly 450 people this spring.
Still, that grower didn't supply all the cucumbers that were linked to salmonella contamination, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) noted in a recent health update .
During their probe, FDA investigators discovered that salmonella found in untreated canal water used by Bedner Growers Inc. matched a strain of the bacteria that caused some of the illnesses reported in 31 states and Washington, D.C.
Bedner Growers supplies Fresh Start Produce Sales, of Delray Beach, Fla., which recalled crates of the cucumbers in late May after the first illnesses were reported. Bedner Growers also supplied cucumbers to multiple places where ill people reported buying or eating the produce, FDA added.
The canal water was only used for subsoil watering, Bedner Growers’ owner Steve Bedner told the Associated Press . The water was not applied to edible parts of the plants. He added that this complies with federal rules and is “a common industry practice.
” U.S. health investigators first said two outbreaks of salmonella were possibly tied to cucumbers, but they later combined them into one because of several similarities.
Nearly 70% of sick people interviewed reported eating cucumbers before they fell ill, the FDA said, and the investigation is continuing. Bedner .