A Salmonella lawsuit was filed on behalf of Brandi Jackson against Bedner Farm, Inc, in the Southern District of Mississippi Northern Division. Ms. Jackson is represented by Marler Clark, the Food Safety Law Firm, and local counsel Langston & Lott, PLLC. of Bonneville, MS.
"This is the second Salmonella outbreak linked to Bedner Farms in the last two years," said William Marler. "In 32 years of doing food safety cases it is very unusual to see a company sickening customers two years running," added Marler.
On May 13, 2025, Ms. Jackson purchased cucumbers from her local Kroger grocery store in Pearl, Mississippi. Several days later after experiencing symptoms of fever, severe chills, abdominal pain, vomiting and excessive sweating and diarrhea, she was hospitalized for nearly a week. Testing revealed a bloodborne Salmonella infection. Upon discharge, Ms. Jackson was sent home with an IV catheter to administer intravenous antibiotics to treat the infection. She continues to recover from her illness and injuries; it is unclear whether she will have long-term medical issues after consuming open-field-grown Salmonella-tainted cucumbers.
As of May 30, 2025, a total of 45 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella have been reported from 18 states. States with reported cases include Alabama 1, California 1, Colorado 1, Florida 6, Georgia 7, Illinois 4, Indiana 1, Kansas 1, Kentucky 1, Massachusetts 1, Michigan 2, North Carolina 3, New York 3, Ohio 4, Pennsylvania 3, South Carolina 2, Tennessee 1 and Virginia 3.
People reported buying and eating cucumbers from a variety of locations including grocery stores, restaurants, hospitals and on cruise ships. Eight sick people reported taking a cruise during the seven days prior to becoming sick, all departing from locations in Florida. Three people traveled on the same ship. Sick people were aboard 6 different cruise ships that departed the United States between March 30 and April 12. Illnesses started on dates ranging from April 2, 2025, to May 10, 2025. 16 people have been hospitalized, with no deaths reported.
Investigation facts
The FDA's traceback investigation has identified Bedner Growers Inc. as the common grower linked to the cucumber outbreak. Following this discovery, the FDA conducted an inspection at Bedner Farm in April 2025 as part of the follow-up to an earlier outbreak. During their inspection, an environmental sample was found to contain the outbreak strain of Salmonella.
In addition, a product sample of cucumbers from Bedner Growers Inc. taken from a distribution center in Pennsylvania tested positive for Salmonella Montevideo, which matches the strain responsible for illnesses in the current outbreak. Further testing of cucumber samples collected from Bedner Growers, Inc. revealed the presence of other types of Salmonella. Along with Salmonella Montevideo, multiple unrelated strains of Salmonella were identified, which matched other isolates in the National Center for Biotechnology Information's database that occurred in 2025 and previous years. The CDC is currently working to determine if there are additional human illnesses that correspond with these other strains.
The CDC has issued an advisory for businesses not to sell or serve whole cucumbers grown by Bedner Growers Inc. and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Sales, Inc. between April 29, 2025, and May 19, 2025, while the investigation is ongoing. Consumers are advised to discard any whole cucumbers in their homes if they cannot ascertain their origin.
In June 2024, the CDC announced a multistate outbreak of salmonellosis associated with cucumbers. As of August 22, 2024, a total of 551 cases had been reported by 34 states and the District of Columbia. Illnesses started on dates ranging from March 11, 2024 to July 26, 2024. Of 456 people with information available, 155 were hospitalized, with no deaths reported.
Investigators detected two types of Salmonella in those sickened, Salmonella Africana (n=282) and Salmonella Braenderup (n=269). The CDC and FDA combined investigations of these two serotypes as they shared several similarities, including where and when illnesses occurred, the demographics of ill people and the foods they reported eating before they became sick.
FDA's traceback investigation identified Bedner Growers, Inc. in Florida as one of the suppliers of cucumbers in this outbreak.
Source: Marler Clark