Another Cucumber Recall Impacts States Across the U.S. This Time for Listeria 

An Ohio company selling cucumbers across three Midwest states issued a voluntary recall on Tuesday, citing a possible listeria contamination. 

The products, both whole cucumbers with a pack date of June 5, 2024 and bagged salad cucumbers with a pack date of June 5, 2024 and June 6, 2024, were sold by Wiers Farm Inc. and distributed in Walmarts across Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a notice on behalf of the Ohio-based company on July 16, announcing the recall. According to the release, the potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination was discovered by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) through routine sampling.

According to the FDA, when Listeria monocytogenes is eaten, “it may cause listeriosis, an illness to which pregnant women and their unborn children are very susceptible.” 

Symptoms of listeriosis could include fever, chills, muscle aches, diarrhea or upset stomach, headache, stiff neck, confusion, and loss of balance. Furthermore, pregnant women are about 10 times more likely to get listeriosis than other healthy adults.

Most of the time, pregnant women who are infected with listeriosis don't feel sick. However, they can pass the infection to their unborn babies without even knowing it. 

So far, there have been no illnesses or consumer complaints reported in connection with the cucumber recall. The notice advised consumers to discard the products, which they added was already past their shelf life.

“Wiers Farm operates to the highest standards of health and food safety,” the company said in the notice. “We have taken immediate steps to address this isolated incident and we are collaborating closely with the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) to ensure a swift resolution.”

It’s been a tough year for cucumbers. Last month, Fresh Start Produce Sales Inc. recalled whole cucumbers shipped to 14 states from May 17 through May 21 because they may have been contaminated with salmonella. Eventual tests would yield that some did indeed test positive for salmonella.

Read More: You’re Not Imagining It: Food Recalls Are Getting More Common. Here’s Why

In the original notice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released in early June, the agency said it had received reports of 162 people who had become sick with salmonella, connected to the recalled cucumbers, in 25 states and Washington, D.C., between March 11 and May 16. Of those 162 people, at least 54 were hospitalized, the CDC said. 

Now, that statistic has risen to 449 people getting sick, though no deaths have been reported.

Last week, a Florida woman, Melissa Milligan filed suit against Fresh Start Produce Sales, as well as Bedner Growers Inc., which grew the cucumbers, over the salmonella outbreak, on allegations of strict liability, breach of warranty, and negligence.

According to the complaint, Milligan bought cucumbers at Publix Super Markets at Shoppes at Murabella in St. Augustine, Fla., on two separate occasions, and after eating the cucumbers,  she started experiencing symptoms consistent with a salmonella infection.

In the FDA’s latest update on July 2, the agency shared results from their investigation into the salmonella outbreak, asserting that the same strand of salmonella causing some of the outbreak was also found in the untreated canal water used by Bedner Growers.

They also said that the company’s cucumber season has ended and thus, “there is no product from this farm on the market and likely no ongoing risk to the public.”

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