A San Diego-based produce company has recalled garden cucumbers believed to be the source of a Salmonella outbreak that killed one Southern California woman and sickened 285 people from 27 states.
The cucumbers were imported from Mexico and distributed by Andrew & Williamson Fresh Produce according to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
In a news release Friday, CDPH said 53 people have been hospitalized with Salmonella serotype Poona. Of those reports, the agency said more than 50 people from California were reporting symptoms of Salmonella exposure.
San Diego County Health Officials say a 99-year-old San Diego woman died August 17 in the outbreak.
Grown and packed by Rancho Don Juanito in Mexico, the cucumbers were distributed between August 1 and September 3.
State officials could not identify the stores where the cucumbers were sold in San Diego. Anderson & Williamson Fresh Produce would not release the names of the retail stores that sold the cucumbers.
The cucumbers arrived in boxes marked as "Limited Edition" brand pole-grown cucumbers but state officials say it’s unlikely the cucumbers would have any identifying brand information on the shelf.
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State officials advise consumers to talk with their local grocer to ask if the cucumbers in their refrigerator may be those involved in the recall.
Seventeen California counties have had reports of illnesses.
The cucumbers were shipped to 22 states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
