Following the 449 documented cases of salmonellosis attributed to Salmonella Braenderup, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have identified Bedner Growers as the source of the contaminated product.  Samples of soil and irrigation water from canals yielded both Salmonella Braenderup and Salmonella Africana responsible for human infection in addition to other Salmonella.

An unfortunate response by the Florida Department of Agriculture refuted the findings of the federal agencies as “inaccurate and misleading” with “the science unsubstantiated and unnecessarily damaging to the firm concerned” This commentator questions the motivation for a state agency to deny the results of a CDC/FDA foodborne disease investigation. In addition to using sound epidemiologic procedures performed according to established protocols the agencies matched isolates from patients with environmental samples applying whole genome sequencing.   

The CDC considers that the outbreak is now over given that Bedner Growers are no longer harvesting or distributing cucumbers and that most product has either been consumed or discarded.

As with leafy greens, vegetables including cucumbers and tomatoes and a range of fruit and nut products including melon have been implicated in outbreaks of salmonellosis.  Contaminated irrigation water is usually the source of pathogens but recommendations concerning cultivation practices issued by FDA are impractical and ineffective.  Given the extreme likelihood of contamination from CAFOs and human waste, it is evident that an effective kill-step is necessary at the time of packing.  Available technologies include electron beam and cold plasma application that could be implemented to destroy non-spore forming bacterial pathogens.