A total of 72 Norwegians have been registered as infected with the Salmonella Agona bacterium following the national outbreak occurred in mid-November.
Since then, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority has been working hard to find the source of the infection.
Now they think the culprit is a popular oblong vegetable often found in the Friday taco on Norwegian tables.
– After an extensive outbreak investigation, a Spanish supplier’s cucumber is singled out as the likely source of infection in a Salmonella outbreak that started in November, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority writes in a Press release Tuesday.
– It is not always possible to find the source of infection in such outbreaks, but now some batches of cucumbers from a Spanish supplier have identified themselves as the most likely source of infection, says Catherine Signe Svindland, senior adviser to the Norwegian Safety Authority food organic food safety section.
I THINK I’VE FOUND THE SINNER: Senior Advisor Catherine Signe Svindland at the Norwegian Food Safety Authority.
Photo: Norwegian Food Safety Authority
The epidemic is probably over
FHI also reports the same result. They also add that the Salmonella outbreak appears to be over, as no new cases of the disease have been reported in recent weeks.
– The epidemic is probably over, but we cannot exclude that more individual cases may appear. We are following the situation closely, says FHI senior advisor Heidi Lange.
The peak of infection in Norway was in mid-November and the last reported case of the disease was recorded on 2 December. Cases of the same outbreak strain were also reported in Sweden and the Netherlands during the same period.
– These batches of cucumber are no longer on the market and therefore we have not been able to test the product for the bacteria of the outbreak, says Lange in FHI.
– Remember to rinse
Cucumber is popular in Norwegian cuisine, whether in a taco, on a slice of bread, or with a seafood dinner.
It’s also not the first time that cucumber has been a suspected culprit in Salmonella outbreaks.
According to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, cucumber was likely the source of large Salmonella outbreaks in England and the United States.
The Norwegian food safety authority therefore reminds you that it is always necessary to rinse and wash fresh fruit and vegetables, especially those imported from abroad.
