Salmonella outbreak linked to second Florida grower
An additional Florida grower has been identified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a likely source of a May salmonella outbreak.
Based on traceback information collected, the FDA determined that Thomas Produce Co. of Boca Raton supplied cucumbers to multiple points of service where ill people reported eating the vegetable. Salmonella Braenderup was detected in samples of canal water used by the company, while whole genome sequencing analysis determined that the water used by Thomas Produce Co. contained the salmonella that is a match to a strain of Salmonella Braenderup that caused some illnesses in this outbreak.
In July, the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control traced contaminated cucumbers to Bedner Growers Inc. of Boynton Beach.
The multistate outbreak of Salmonella Africana and Salmonella Braenderup infections caused 449 illnesses in 31 states and Washington. Two outbreaks, originally reported as separate events, were combined because of similarities including when and where illnesses occurred, the demographics of ill people and the foods they reported eating before they became sick.
Laboratory, epidemiological and traceback data determined that cucumbers from the two Florida growers, though the companies do not account for all the illnesses in this outbreak.
The cucumber growing and harvesting season at both companies is over, with no produce from either farm on the market and likely no ongoing risk to public, according to the FDA.
As part of the investigation, the FDA collected samples in an onsite inspection at Thomas Produce Co. Additional types of salmonella were detected in both soil and water samples collected at both Bedner Growers and Thomas Produce Co., according to the FDA.
Multiple other strains of salmonella, unrelated to this outbreak investigation, found at Bedner Growers matched clinical isolates from illnesses in the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s database that occurred in previous years, the investigation found. CDC and FDA are working to determine if other positive samples from Thomas Produce Co. match historical clinical isolates.
