A Side of Salmonella: What’s Up with Those Contaminated Cucumbers? | Episode 119

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When your cucumbers keep ending up on outbreak lists, it’s time to ask: what the actual food safety fail is going on?

In this episode of Don’t Eat Poop!, our hosts Matt and Francine dig into the repeat salmonella outbreaks linked to Bedner Growers - and why the phrase “voluntary recall” should still raise your eyebrows. 

They dissect how the contamination trail is traced, what might really be behind recurring farm-based outbreaks, and why cross-contamination is everyone’s problem. Whether you're running a farm, a food service kitchen, or just trying to avoid the “poop” in your produce, this one’s a wake-up call.

In this episode:

💩 [03:02] The shift from consumer ignorance to awareness of food safety

💩 [05:32] Bedner Growers: One salmonella outbreak is bad–two is a pattern

💩 [08:02] How tracebacks work

💩 [12:35] Epidemiology 101: What did you eat... a week ago?

💩 [17:16] Farming and food safety: Where does Salmonella come from?

💩 [20:59] Most farms don’t survive a salmonella outbreak

💩 [25:54] Ripple effects: How one farm’s mistake can tank a whole commodity

💩 [32:24] Lessons from Jack in the Box, Chipotle, and other infamous outbreaks

💩 [35:35] Food safety and insurance companies

Disclaimer: Episode title and content do not constitute legal or health advice.

Resources from this episode

Check out the Food Safety News article our hosts are talking about, Bedner cucumbers are back, making people sick once again.

Noteworthy quotes from this episode

“ You can't taste [salmonella], you can't see it, you can't smell it. It's invisible to the naked eye, but not invisible to the human body system.” – Matt Regusci

“All foodborne illnesses are preventable. You get them from eating something that's contaminated. Are we ever going to eliminate all of them? No. But they're all preventable.” – Francine L Shaw

We hope you enjoy this episode!

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