As cucumber recipes go viral online this week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated information about a salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers.
An investigation into the salmonella outbreak was first posted June 5 and it remains active as of Saturday. Overall, 449 illnesses and 125 hospitalizations in 31 states and the District of Columbia have been linked to the outbreak, which includes strains of Salmonella Africana and Salmonella Braenderup.
No deaths have been reported and the latest illness onset was June 4.
Epidemiologic, traceback, and laboratory data revealed that Salmonella Braenderup was found in untreated canal water used by a grower in Florida. This newly added strain was linked to 215 of the illnesses.
“The true number of sick people in this outbreak is likely much higher than the number reported, and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses,” said the CDC. “This is because many people recover without medical care and are not tested for Salmonella. In addition, recent illnesses may not yet be reported as it usually takes three to four weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak.”
The CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have both been working on collecting data on the illnesses. FDA’s laboratory and traceback data, as well as epidemiologic information, indicated that cucumbers from Bedner Growers, Inc., of Boynton Beach, Florida, and Thomas Produce Company, of Boca Raton, Florida, are likely sources of the outbreak. However, they may not be the only sources.
“Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis,” said the FDA.
Symptoms can start anywhere from six hours to six days after exposure and most people recover with no treatment within a week. Some people – especially those under 5 years old and those older than 65 – might be at risk for more severe illness.
According to the CDC, “there aren’t any products on the market and likely no ongoing risk to the public,” as of Thursday. Per the FDA, impacted states included Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
As the CDC and FDA updated information about the outbreak, cucumber recipes were going viral online, USA Today reported. It traced the craze back to TikToker Logan Moffit (@logagm) who gets millions of views on cucumber snack recipes he mixes in deli containers.
Cucumber lovers who want to mitigate the risk of salmonella infection can follow these tips from the CDC:
· Wash hands, utensils and surfaces often
· Rinse fruit and vegetables before eating, cutting or peeling them
· Keep food that won’t be cooked away from other raw food that will be cooked (think raw poultry, meat and seafood)
· When possible, cook food at a temperature high enough to kill germs or chill perishable food within one to two hours of getting it