What We Know About the Bedner Growers Montevideo Cucumber Outbreak
CDC and FDA linked 69 Salmonella Montevideo illnesses and 22 hospitalizations across 21 states to whole fresh cucumbers grown by Bedner Growers, Inc. of Boynton Beach, Florida. CDC reported no deaths. Illnesses occurred between April 2 and May 29, 2025, and the investigation closed on June 30, 2025.
Bedner’s Second Cucumber Outbreak in 12 Months
This was Bedner Growers’ second large multistate Salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers in less than a year. In 2024, CDC and FDA named Bedner Growers and Thomas Produce Company as likely sources of a Salmonella Africana and Braenderup outbreak that sickened 551 people in 34 states and Washington, D.C. FDA found an outbreak strain of Salmonella Braenderup in canal water at both farms.
On November 17, 2025, FDA issued a Warning Letter to Bedner Growers that cites both the 2024 and 2025 outbreak investigations. FDA said Bedner’s cucumbers were adulterated because they were prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions, and it called the company’s corrective actions not adequate. Bedner told FDA it won’t renew its land leases for 2026 or grow produce for wholesale distribution. A grower with documented repeat contamination of the same crop has a harder time arguing it had no notice of the risk.
The Recall
On May 19, 2025, Bedner Growers Inc. recalled cucumbers sold at its three Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market stores in Florida between April 29 and May 14, 2025, along with cucumbers it sold to wholesale distributor Fresh Start Produce Sales, Inc. FDA listed product distribution as nationwide. Many other companies issued secondary recalls for sliced cucumbers, salads, wraps, and other foods made with the recalled cucumbers.
Salmonella Montevideo and Whole Cucumbers
Whole genome sequencing matched bacteria from sick people to bacteria from Bedner-grown cucumbers. According to FDA’s Warning Letter, swabs from food contact surfaces on Bedner’s cucumber packing line in April 2025 were positive for Salmonella that matched this outbreak. A cucumber sample FDA collected on May 15, 2025 carried the Montevideo outbreak strain along with strains tied to the 2024 outbreak.
Your Legal Rights
If you developed a laboratory-confirmed Salmonella Montevideo infection after eating recalled Bedner cucumbers in 2025, you may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, hospitalization costs, lost income, pain and suffering, and other damages. Costs from complications like reactive arthritis may be part of a claim. The repeat outbreak history may also support claims for punitive damages.
Ron Simon & Associates is a food poisoning law firm that has recovered over $850 million for victims nationwide. Our Salmonella lawyers focus exclusively on foodborne illness litigation and are reviewing claims from this outbreak. You pay our law firm nothing unless we recover compensation for you. Contact us for a free consultation at 1-888-335-4901.