### SunFed Produce Recalls Cucumbers Amid Salmonella Concerns; Broader Food Safety Issues Emerge

SunFed Produce, an Arizona-based company, has issued a recall of cucumbers from over 26 states and parts of Canada following a notification from federal health regulators about a potential connection to salmonella infections. The recall, announced on Thanksgiving, involves "all sizes of whole fresh American cucumbers packaged in bulk cardboard containers" labeled by SunFed. Additionally, affected cucumbers were distributed in generic white boxes and black plastic crates bearing a sticker with "Agrotato, S.A. de C.V.," the grower's name.

The potentially contaminated cucumbers were sold at retail stores between October 12 and November 26, as noted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA has advised consumers to refrain from consuming, serving, using, selling, or distributing the recalled cucumbers and to clean and sanitize any surfaces that might have come into contact with the produce to prevent cross-contamination.

The cucumbers were shipped to various states including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and others, as well as to Canadian provinces such as Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Ontario.

Craig Slate, President of SunFed, emphasized the company's commitment to food safety and consumer health, stating, "As soon as we learned of this issue, we immediately acted to protect consumers. We are working closely with authorities and the implicated ranch to determine the possible cause."

In a separate incident, Gracie's Kitchen, a New Haven, Connecticut-based vendor, announced on Thursday the recall of nearly 150 fruit and vegetable products due to potential listeria contamination. The recall includes offerings manufactured between November 4 and November 13 and sold under the brand names Gracie's Kitchens, King Kullen, and Wild By Nature in grocery stores in Connecticut and New York. The impacted products are now outdated, with sell-by dates ranging from November 9 to November 24.

The current spate of recalls has brought food safety into the spotlight, with numerous high-profile cases emerging recently. For example, TreeHouse Foods expanded its recall of frozen pancakes and waffles over listeria concerns. Additionally, cheese sold at Aldi and Market Basket stores was recalled over suspected listeria contamination, and McDonald's halted the sale of Quarter Pounder burgers in ten states due to an E. coli issue linked to onions.

Significant recalls have also affected the meat industry. BrucePac, an Oklahoma-based meat packer, recalled nearly 10 million pounds of ready-to-eat beef and poultry products over listeria fears. Boar's Head had to shut down a major plant in Virginia, identified as the source of a listeria outbreak, leading to the removal of millions of pounds of deli meats from store shelves.

These recalls underscore the ongoing challenges and critical importance of maintaining stringent food safety standards to protect public health.