FDA outbreak investigations continue

Officials with the Food and Drug Administration are continuing to investigate several foodborne illness outbreaks.

For an outbreak of E. coli O145:H28 infections, the FDA has begun sample testing, but has not reported what it is testing. The agency had already begun traceback efforts and an onsite inspection, but has not reported what is being traced or what location is being inspected. The outbreak has sickened 11 people but the agency has not reported the patients’ ages or where they live. The outbreak was first posted on May 14.

In other outbreak news, the patient count in a Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak has grown to 129, up from 112 a week ago. The FDA has not reported the patients’ ages, where they live or whether any have been hospitalized. The agency has begun traceback efforts but has not reported what food it is tracing. The agency has also begun sample testing and an onsite inspection, but has not reported what it is testing or what location is being inspected. The outbreak was first posted on April 23.

For an outbreak of Salmonella Newport infections, the FDA has closed its investigation without determining the source of the pathogen. The outbreak sickened 36 people, but the FDA did not report their ages or where they live. The agency conducted traceback but did not report what food it traced. It also conducted testing and an onsite inspection but did not report what it tested or what location was inspected. The outbreak was first posted on Feb. 2.

There are likely many more people sickened in the Salmonella outbreaks than are confirmed. This is because some people do not seek medical treatment and others are not specifically tested for Salmonella infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that for every person confirmed as a patient in a Salmonella outbreak there are 29 who go undetected.

An outbreak of Salmonella infections traced to cucumbers from Florida is growing.

So far, 45 people across 18 states have been confirmed as outbreak patients. Sixteen people have been hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The patients range in age from 2 to 84 years old.

Cucumbers from Bedner Growers Inc. of Boynton Beach, FL, have been determined to be the source of the outbreak, according to the FDA. Whole fresh cucumbers from the farm were distributed by Fresh Start Produce Inc. Cucumbers from the farm, as well as a number of products made with them, have been recalled.

Illnesses began on April 2 and include cruise ship passengers from six different ships. Sick people reported buying and eating cucumbers from a variety of locations including grocery stores, restaurants, hospitals and on the cruise ships. 

The Food and Drug Administration is continuing to investigate the outbreak. The agency conducted an inspection at Bedner Farms Inc. in April as a follow up to an outbreak in 2024. During the inspection, environmental samples were collected. An environmental sample was identified as the outbreak strain of Salmonella making people sick this year.

As part of the investigation, the FDA collected a product sample of Bedner Growers Inc. cucumbers from a distribution center in Pennsylvania. Salmonella was detected in the sample of cucumbers. Whole genome sequencing analysis determined that the product sample contained Salmonella Montevideo, which matched the strain of Salmonella linked to illnesses in this year’s outbreak.

Other types of Salmonella were detected in the cucumber sample collected, originating from Bedner Growers Inc. In addition to Salmonella Montevideo, multiple other strains of Salmonella, unrelated to this outbreak investigation, matched other isolates in the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s database that occurred in 2025 and previous years. The CDC is working to determine if additional human illnesses match these additional strains.

2024 cucumber Salmonella outbreak
Cucumbers from Bedner Growers Inc. and Thomas Produce Company of Boca Raton, FL, were found to be the source of a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Africana and Salmonella Braenderup infections with 551 illnesses reported from 34 states and the District of Columbia in 2024.

The FDA conducted onsite inspections at Bender Growers Inc. and Thomas Produce Company and collected samples. Salmonella Braenderup was detected in samples of canal water at both farms. 

Whole Genome Sequencing analysis determined that the water used by Thomas Produce Company contained Salmonella that is a match to a strain of Salmonella Braenderup that caused some of the illnesses in the outbreak. Additionally, the water used by Bedner Growers Inc. also contained Salmonella that was a match to a different strain of Salmonella Braenderup that caused some of the illnesses in the 2024 outbreak.

Additional types of Salmonella were detected in both soil and water samples collected at both Bedner Growers, Inc. and Thomas Produce Company. Multiple other strains of Salmonella, unrelated to this outbreak investigation, found at Bedner Growers and Thomas Produce Company, matched clinical isolates from illnesses in the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s database that occurred in 2024 and previous years.

(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here)

Source: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2025/06/fda-outbreak-investigations-continue-3/