Salmonella concerns prompt recall of cucumbers sold by Arizona produce company

A recall of whole fresh cucumbers sold by an Arizona produce company and shipped to more than half the U.S. and five Canadian provinces has promoted action by retail chains including Walmart and Costco.

The cucumbers are linked to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened 68 people in 19 states, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

SunFed Produce LLC, located in Rio Rico, Arizona, initiated a recall of all sizes of whole fresh American cucumbers packaged in bulk cardboard containers because of salmonella concerns on Nov. 27.  On Dec. 3, Walmart voluntarily recalled its Marketside Fresh Cut Cucumber Slices, sold at 34 Texas stores, as the product may contain whole cucumbers supplied by SunFed Produce.

The recalled cucumbers were sold between Oct. 12 and Nov. 26, according to a SunFed company announcement.

Costco notified customers that they purchased potentially contaminated SunFed cucumbers between Nov. 12 and Nov. 27.

Russ Davis recalled products sold under Crazy Fresh, Quick & Easy and Kowalski’s Markets brands. JFE Franchising, Supreme Service Solutions (Supreme Produce) and Yummi Sushi recalled Snowfox, Snowfruit, Supreme Produce and Yummi Sushi brand products containing recalled cucumbers sold at Kroger stores in Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana and Texas and at King Soopers stores in Colorado.

“As soon as we learned of this issue, we immediately acted to protect consumers,” Craig Slate, SunFed president, said in the company statement. “We are working closely with authorities and the implicated ranch to determine the possible cause.

“Here at SunFed, food safety and consumer health and wellness have been our priorities for more than 30 years. We require all of our growers to strictly comply with the FDA food safety requirements.”

Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. Symptoms, which include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, usually start six hours to six days after infection and last four to seven days.

Customers with the recalled products in their possession should throw them out or return them to the point of purchase. Consumers are also encouraged to sanitize surfaces that could have come into contact with the products.

The cucumbers were sold by SunFed and other importers and shipped to customers in 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 and Wisconsin, as well the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Calgary, Saskatchewan and Ontario, according to SunFed.

The cucumbers would have reached consumers through foodservice and retail outlets that may be located in states other than those listed, the company said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the outbreak has sickened 16 people in Montana; seven to nine in Colorado and Oregon; and four to six in Massachusetts, Texas, South Dakota and Washington. One to three people have been sickened in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, California and Alaska.