Cucumber recall update as FDA gives Walmart products highest risk level

The recall of Marketside Fresh Cut Cucumber Slices from 34 Walmart stores in Texas has been given a Class I risk classification by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The classification was announced on Wednesday following the initial recall, which took place on November 28 over fears that the products had been contaminated with salmonella. This is the latest in a series of cucumber recalls in 26 states and five Canadian provinces because of salmonella concerns.

On its website, the FDA says a Class I classification is issued in "a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death."

Newsweek contacted Walmart for comment via email on Thursday outside regular office hours.

In a statement sent to Newsweek on Friday after the initial recall announcement, Walmart said: "The health and safety of our customers is always a top priority. At this time, there have been no reported illnesses associated with the recall of our Marketside Fresh Cut Cucumber Slices.

"We have placed a sales restriction on the product, which has also been removed from the select, impacted stores."

The FDA said the Walmart Marketside Fresh Cut Cucumber Slices were recalled as they may contain whole cucumbers supplied by SunFed Produce LLC of Rio Rico, Arizona. SunFed issued its own recall after being informed by the FDA that its cucumbers had been linked to salmonella between October 12 and November 15.

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

"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."

Across the U.S., a salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers had by December 2 infected 68 people in 19 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with 18 people hospitalized. There have been no reported deaths associated with the outbreak, which has been linked to a consignment of cucumbers produced by Agrotato, S.A. de C.V. in Sonora, Mexico.

"Epidemiologic and traceback information shows that cucumbers grown by Agrotato, S.A. de C.V. in Sonora, Mexico, including recalled cucumbers from SunFed Produce, LLC, may be contaminated with Salmonella and may be making people sick," the CDC said.