Cucumber from Spain is a suspected source of infection in an outbreak of salmonella – NRK Vestland

A total of 72 Norwegians have been registered as infected with the bacterium Salmonella Agona following the national outbreak that occurred in mid-November.

Since then, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority has worked furiously to find the source of the infection.

Now they think the culprit is a popular, oblong vegetable that is often found in the Friday taco on Norwegian dinner tables.

– After an extensive outbreak investigation, cucumber from a Spanish supplier points out as a likely source of infection in a salmonella outbreak that started in November, writes the Norwegian Food Safety Authority in a press release on Tuesday.

– It is not always possible to find the source of infection in such outbreaks, but now some batches of cucumber from a Spanish supplier have identified themselves as the most likely source of infection, says Catherine Signe Svindland, senior adviser in the Norwegian Food Safety Authority’s biological food safety section.

The outbreak is probably over

FHI also reports the same finding. They also add that the salmonella outbreak appears to be over, because no new cases of illness have been reported in recent weeks.

– The outbreak is probably over, but we cannot rule out that more individual cases may appear. We are following the situation closely, says senior advisor Heidi Lange at FHI.

The peak of infection in Norway was in mid-November and the last reported case of the disease came on 2 December. Cases of the same outbreak strain have also been reported in Sweden and the Netherlands, in the same period.

– These batches of cucumber are no longer on the market, and we have therefore not been able to test the product for the outbreak bacteria, says Lange in FHI.

– Remember to rinse

The cucumber is popular in Norwegian cuisine, both in the taco, on a slice of bread or with the fish dinner.

It is also not the first time that the cucumber is a suspected culprit in salmonella outbreaks.

According to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, the cucumber has probably been the source of large outbreaks of salmonella in England and the USA.

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority therefore reminds that you should always rinse and wash fresh fruit and vegetables, especially those imported from abroad.