Walmart is voluntarily recalling cucumber slices sold in 34 Texas stores due to potential salmonella contamination, according to a company announcement published on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) website on Wednesday.
Walmart recalled batches of its Marketside Fresh Cut Cucumber Slices because the product may contain cucumbers supplied by SunFed Produce of Rio Rico, Arizona, which had previously been recalled due to a salmonella outbreak between Oct. 12 and Nov. 15.
The announcement applies to 1.5-pound Marketside Fresh Cut Cucumber Slices with all date codes up to Dec. 1 that bear the UPC/PLU number 62969.
The FDA advises customers who have bought the affected products to throw them out or destroy them so they cannot be consumed, or to return the items to the point of purchase.
Customers who bought the sliced cucumbers should not consume, serve, use, sell, or distribute them, and are encouraged to clean and sanitize surfaces that could have come into contact with the recalled product to reduce the risk of cross-contamination, the agency said.
Symptoms of Salmonella Infection
Salmonella are a group of bacteria that can cause gastrointestinal illness and fever called salmonellosis, according to the FDA. It can enter the food production chain when food handlers do not wash their hands, surfaces, or utensils properly during the food preparation process.
People infected with salmonella typically develop symptoms six hours to six days after infection, with the illness lasting four to seven days, the agency says. Some may experience symptoms that include fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
Severe cases of salmonella can lead to the bacteria entering the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses, such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis, and arthritis, the FDA says.
Approximately 450 persons in the United States die each year from acute salmonellosis, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The FDA advises anyone who has consumed the recalled product and feels unwell to contact their health care provider.
SunFed Recall
On Nov. 27, SunFed recalled all sizes of whole fresh American cucumbers due to potential salmonella contamination. The cucumbers were sold from Oct. 12 to Nov. 26 by SunFed and other importers and shipped to retailers across the United States and Canada, including chains like Walmart, Costco, Wegmans, and Albertsons.
“As soon as we learned of this issue, we immediately acted to protect consumers,” SunFed President Craig Slate said in a statement included in the recall notice. “We are working closely with authorities and the implicated ranch to determine the possible cause.”
The affected products were distributed in several U.S. states, namely in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The Canadian provinces where the recalled product was distributed were Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Ontario.
Walmart alerted customers of the recall on Nov. 28, issuing a list of select stores where the cucumbers were sold.
Similarly, Wegmans announced a recall on Nov. 28 of seeded cucumbers with potential salmonella contamination purchased through Nov. 27. The company said customers can return the product for a full refund.
Costco published a notice for the SunFed cucumbers on Nov. 29, recalling cucumbers with item number 171067 sold between Nov. 12 and Nov. 27.
Albertsons has issued three recalls to date of store-made deli and produce items that contained the SunFed cucumbers. According to a Dec. 4 press release, the affected products were available at selected Albertsons, Safeway, and Vons stores in Arizona, New Mexico, Southern Nevada, El Paso, Texas, and Utah.
On Dec. 3, Albertsons recalled store-made deli and produce items that were available for purchase at Albertsons and Safeway stores located in Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, the southern region of Washington State, and Wyoming.
On Nov. 28, the company recalled the impacted items from Albertsons, Randalls, and Tom Thumb stores located in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.
Consumers who have purchased the recalled products may obtain additional information by contacting SunFed’s recall hotline at 888-542-5849, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. MST Monday to Friday, according to SunFed.