Fruit supplier SunFed Produce recalls cucumbers sold in 26 states over salmonella fears

A fruit supplier has recalled cucumbers across at least 26 states and Canada after federal health regulators told the company that there was a possible link between the produce and salmonella infections.

SunFed Produce, an Arizona-based company, announced on Thanksgiving that it was recalling “all sizes of whole fresh American cucumbers packaged in bulk cardboard containers” that carried the firm’s label.

The impacted produce was also sold in generic white boxes and black plastic crates that include a sticker with the text “Agrotato, S.A. de C.V.,” which is the name of the grower.

The affected products were sold at stores between Oct. 12 through this past Tuesday, Nov. 26, according to a note posted by the Food and Drug Administration.

“Anyone with the recalled product in their possession should not consume, serve, use, sell, or distribute recalled products,” the notice states.

“We also encourage them to clean and sanitize surfaces that could have come into contact with the recalled product to reduce cross-contamination.”

The cucumbers were shipped to retailers in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington state and Wisconsin.

The produce was also shipped to stores in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Ontario.

“As soon as we learned of this issue, we immediately acted to protect consumers. We are working closely with authorities and the implicated ranch to determine the possible cause,” said Craig Slate, President at SunFed.

“Here at SunFed, food safety and consumer health and wellness have been our priorities for more than 30 years. We require all of our growers to strictly comply with the FDA food safety requirements.”

Salmonella infection can lead to several adverse health conditions including severe diarrhea, urinary tract infection, reactive arthritis, sepsis and pregnancy complications.

Meanwhile, a New Haven, Conn.-based fruit and vegetable vendor announced on Thursday that nearly 150 products have been recalled due to fears of a listeria contamination.

Gracie’s Kitchen said on Thursday that it was voluntarily recalling all fruit and vegetable products that were manufactured at its facility between Nov. 4 and Nov. 13.

No illnesses have been reported in connection with the recall by Gracie’s Kitchen, according to the FDA.

These products were sold at grocery stores in Connecticut and New York under three different brand names: Gracie’s Kitchens, King Kullen and Wild By Nature.

Impacted products are now all out of date, with sell by dates ranging from November 9 to 24.

Food safety has been a hot topic of late in light of several high-profile recalls and closures of restaurants due to fears of possible contamination.

TreeHouse Foods, the snacking and beverage manufacturer, expanded its recall of frozen pancakes and waffles over fears that the products may be tainted with listeria.

Earlier this month, the FDA posted a notice announcing that soft, ripened cheese sold at Aldi and Market Basket were being recalled due to a suspected listeria contamination.

The agency also issued a separate recall of turkey sandwiches that contained recalled cheese also made by Savencia Cheese USA.

Last month, McDonald’s temporarily halted the sale of its Quarter Pounder burgers in thousands of its restaurants across 10 states after regulators said that onions used in the burgers were the source of E. coli contamination.

At around the same time, an Oklahoma-based meat packer, BrucePac, recalled nearly 10 million pounds of ready-to-eat beef and poultry items due to concerns they were contaminated with listeria.

Boar’s Head, the maker of cold cut deli meats, shut down a massive plant in Virginia that was determined to be the source of a listeria outbreak that impacted millions of pounds of products that were pulled from stores.