The Western Australian Department of Health has linked 19 illnesses to Perfection Fresh’s Qukes brand baby cucumbers. Nearly 20 people have become ill and baby cucumbers are suspected. The grower has not been identified, but cucumber production has ceased.

Sick persons range in age from 1 to people in their 60s. 3 children have been admitted to the hospital. Patients reported eating tiny cucumbers seven days before getting sick.

The Salmonella typhimurium outbreak strain was detected in a bag of Qukes baby cucumbers purchased from a Perth supermarket on December 23 with a best-before date of December 24. According to reports, the agency’s subsequent product testing discovered no more positive Salmonella results. Other health departments are investigating the incident, but no associated illnesses have been documented. Salmonella testing on 40 goods from production facilities was negative, according to Perfection Fresh. This includes analyzing retention samples from the same batch that had a best-before date of December 24.

We did an investigation to try and identify any potential sources of contamination that may have damaged baby cucumbers, and Initial examinations at our manufacturing sites revealed no possible sources of contamination, said Andrew Redman, Perfection Fresh’s chief technical officer.

The company’s food safety and quality teams examined existing processes to ensure that the proper protocols are in place. they increased routine Salmonella testing for products and the environment. As a precautionary measure, we have improved cleanliness controls and testing of baby cucumbers to reassure consumers that the baby cucumbers are a safe, delicious, and nutritious product to eat, Redman added.