1 of 2 | Cucumbers grown by Agrotato S.A. de C.V. in Sonora, Mexico, and sold by importer SunFed Produce of Nogales, Ariz., may be contaminated with Salmonella and may be making people sick. Photo courtesy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Nov. 29 (UPI) — Federal and state health officials said Friday they are working to track down more data about a Salmonella outbreak traced to Mexican-grown cucumbers that sickened 68 people in 19 states.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and regulatory officials in several states are collecting epidemiologic, traceback and food testing data in their probe of the outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium infections, CDC officials said.
An initial investigation released earlier this week has shown that whole, fresh American cucumbers grown by Agrotato S.A. de C.V. in Sonora, Mexico, and sold by importer SunFed Produce of Nogales, Ariz., may be contaminated with Salmonella and may be making people sick.
The CDC says the Illnesses started on Oct. 12 and ranged through Nov. 16. Of the 50 people for whom information is available, 18 have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported, the agency said.
The true number of sick people in the outbreak is likely much higher than the number reported and may not be limited to the 19 states initially listed, including Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington & Wisconsin and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Ontario.
The state with the highest numbers of cases so far is Montana with seven. The cucumbers were sold through various foodservice and retail outlets. Some of the cucumbers may have a have a PLU sticker indicating their origin.
“As soon as we learned of this issue, we immediately acted to protect consumers,” SunFed President Craig Slate said in a statement. “We are working closely with authorities and the implicated ranch to determine the possible cause.”