The Salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers grown in Mexico has resulted in the death of two women in separate incidents. While one woman hailed from Texas, the other belonged to California.
Both of these women were under the high-risk category carrying Salmonella infection which has affected over 341 people in 30 states across the US.
The cucumbers have been identified as those that were distributed by San Diego-based Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce. The company had issued a recall on 5 September.
Arizona, California, Montana, and Nevada states in the US have isolated Salmonella-tainted cucumbers, which were distributed by Andrew & Williamson, from several locations. The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services isolated one of the three outbreak strains of Salmonella Poona from a cucumber sold at a retail outlet.
DNA fingerprint test is being conducted to find out pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern of the Salmonella isolated from the cucumbers in Arizona and Montana. The test is still underway on the cucumbers collected from Andrew & Williamson Produce facility by the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency.
Separetely, California-based Custom Produce Sales is recalling all of the cucumbers sold under the Fat Boy label starting 1 August over concerns of Salmonella contamination.
The cucumbers are dark green, about 7 to 10 inches long, and about 1.75 to 2.5 inches in diameter. At grocery stores, they are sold in bulk bins carrying no individual packaging or labeling, reported Food Poisoning Bulletin.
The Fat Boy cucumbers were produced in Baja California and distributed across California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas.
The company is working with health authorities to recall all of the products. It has notified customers regarding the contamination and urged them to either dispose of the purchase or return it to the place of purchase for refund.
