Bedner Growers Cucumber Salmonella Outbreak
CDC linked 551 illnesses and 155 hospitalizations in 34 states and Washington, D.C. to cucumbers. CDC and FDA named Bedner Growers, Inc. in Boynton Beach, Florida and Thomas Produce Company in Boca Raton, Florida as likely sources, though they didn’t account for every illness. No deaths were reported.
Two Salmonella Strains, One Outbreak
Investigators combined Salmonella Africana and Salmonella Braenderup infections because the two groups shared similarities in where and when people got sick, who they were, and the foods they reported eating. Illnesses started between March 11 and July 26, 2024. FDA found outbreak strains of Salmonella Braenderup in canal water at both Florida farms.
Fresh Start Produce Sales announced a recall of whole cucumbers on May 31, 2024. Bedner Growers was later linked to a second cucumber outbreak, the 2025 Bedner Montevideo outbreak.
How Investigators Linked the Outbreak to Cucumbers
State and local health officials interviewed 226 people, and 69% reported eating cucumbers in the week before they got sick, well above the 50% of respondents in CDC’s FoodNet Population Survey. Traceback and laboratory data backed that signal.
Your Legal Rights
If laboratory testing confirmed Salmonella and you ate cucumbers during the outbreak window, you may have a product liability claim against growers, distributors, or retailers in the supply chain.
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. Contact us for a free consultation at 1-888-335-4901. You pay our law firm nothing unless we recover compensation for you.