Author: JONEL ALECCIA AP health writer

U.S. health officials are investigating a new outbreak of salmonella illnesses tied to a Florida grower whose tainted cucumbers were linked to more than 550 illnesses last year.Cucumbers grown by Florida-based Bedner Growers and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Sales have been linked to illnesses in at least 26 people in 15 states, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported late Monday. At least nine people have been hospitalized; no deaths have been reported. The cucumbers were sold to restaurants, stores and food service distributors between April 29 and May 19 and may still be within their shelf life this week. Illnesses were reported between April 2 and April 28, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outbreak was detected as part of a follow-up inspection in April to a 2024 outbreak that sickened 551 people and led to 155 hospitalizations in 34 states and Washington, D.C. In that outbreak, investigators found salmonella bacteria linked to many of the illnesses in untreated canal water used at farms operated by Bedner Growers and Thomas Produce Company. In the current outbreak, officials found salmonella bacteria from samples on the farm that matched samples from people who got sick. Health officials are investigating where the potentially contaminated cucumbers were distributed. Several people who fell ill ate cucumbers on cruise ships leaving ports in Florida, according to the CDC. Organic cucumbers are not affected, officials said. Retailers should notify consumers who may have bought the tainted produce. If consumers don’t know the source of cucumbers, they should throw them away, officials said. Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include diarrhea, fever, severe vomiting, dehydration and stomach cramps. Most people who get sick recover within a week. Infections can be severe in young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems, who may require hospitalization. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Nebraska is the first state to receive a federal waiver to ban the purchase of soda and energy drinks under the benefit program for low-income Americans long known as food stamps.The move, announced Monday by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, would affect about 152,000 people in Nebraska enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which helps families pay for groceries.“There’s absolutely zero reason for taxpayers to be subsidizing purchases of soda and energy drinks,” Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said in a statement. “SNAP is about helping families in need get healthy food into their diets, but there’s nothing nutritious about the junk we’re removing with today’s waiver.”Six other states — Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, Iowa and West Virginia — have also submitted requests for waivers banning certain foods and drinks or, in some cases, expanding access to hot foods for participants, according to the USDA. The push to ban sugary drinks, candy and more from the SNAP program has been key focus of Rollins and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Rollins called Monday’s move “a historic step to Make America Healthy again.” Details of Nebraska’s waiver, which takes effect Jan. 1, weren’t immediately available. Anti-hunger advocates criticized it, saying it adds costs, boosts administrative burdens and increases stigma for people already facing food insecurity. The waiver “ignores decades of evidence showing that incentive-based approaches — not punitive restrictions — are the most effective, dignified path to improving nutrition and reducing hunger,” said Gina Plata-Nino, a deputy director at the Food Research