The outbreak of Salmonella Montevideo illnesses linked to whole cucumbers from Bedner Growers, Inc. has expanded to three more states according to an update releaased today by the CDC.
As of May 30, 2025, 45 individuals from 18 states have been confirmed to be infected with the outbreak strain. Sixteen people have been hospitalized.
Confirmed cases have been reported in Alabama (1), California (1), Colorado (1), Florida (6), Georgia (7), Illinois (4), Indiana (1), Kansas (1), Kentucky (1), Massachusetts (1), Michigan (2), North Carolina (3), New York (3), Ohio (4), Pennsylvania (3), South Carolina (2), Tennessee (1), and Virginia (3).
Eight of the outbreak victims reported having taken a cruise in the week before becoming ill. All of the six ships identified by victims departed from Florida ports. Three of the victims travelled on the same ship.
Outbreak victims range in age from 2 to 84 years (median age of 50 years). Roughly three-quarters (76%) of the victims are female.
Of 27 people interviewed so farm, 24 (86%) reported having eaten cucumbers (compared to ~50% of respondents in a FoodNet survey).
The FDA has recovered the outbreak strain in an environmental sample collected during an inspection conducted at Bedner Growers, Inc. The inspection was a follow-up to the investigtion of a 2024 Salmonella outbreak that was linked to cucumbers grown by Bedners.
During the course of the investigation into the current outbreak, the FDA collected a sample of Bedner Growers, Inc., cucumbers from a distribution center in Pennsylvania. Salmonella matching the outbreak strain was recovered from the cucumber sample.
The FDA also found multiple other strains of Salmonella, unrelated to this outbreak investigation, matched other isolates in the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s (NCBI) database that were reported in 2025 and previous years. The CDC is working to determine if additional human illnesses match these strains.
On May 19, 2025, Bedner Growers, Inc. recalled whole cucumbers sold directly to consumers at Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market and to its wholesale distributor. Multiple additional recall notices have been issued by the consignees of these cucumbers. The FDA has posted a table linking to the recall notices.
The FDA and CDC investigations are ongoing, and the CDC warns the public that additional outbreak cases are likely to be reported.
CDC recommends the following actions
What businesses should do
- Do not sell or serve whole cucumbers grown by Bedner Growers Inc. and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Inc. between April 29, 2025 and May 19, 2025.
- Wash and sanitize items and surfaces that may have come in contact with cucumbers.
- Stores can also notify customers who may have purchased cucumbers using signs in stores or emails to customers.
What consumers should do
- If you have cucumbers at home and can’t tell where they are from, throw them away.
- When eating out over the next week, ask if cucumbers were from Bedner Growers or Fresh Start Produce Sales Inc.
- Wash surfaces and items that may have touched the cucumbers using hot soapy water or a dishwasher.
Call your healthcare provider if you have any of these severe Salmonella symptoms
- 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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