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WA Health’s December 2022 Qukes Baby Cucumber Salmonella Warning: What Was Advised

In December 2022 WA Health advised against eating Qukes baby cucumbers bought that month while a Salmonella Typhimurium investigation continued. Here is what was reported, and what is not established.
From TheFinanceBase Team3 min to read
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In late December 2022, WA Health told people not to eat Qukes brand baby cucumbers bought in December 2022 until more information was available. The advice came while an investigation into illnesses over the festive season was still under way. At the time, 19 people had fallen ill, and PathWest had confirmed Salmonella Typhimurium in a Qukes cucumber bought at a Perth metropolitan supermarket on 23 December.

This is a record of a temporary advisory from December 2022, not a current alert. The reports covered here describe what authorities said at that point. They do not show how the investigation ended or whether any Qukes cucumbers on sale today are affected.

What WA Health advised

The warning was narrow in scope. As reported at the time, it covered:

  • Product: Qukes brand baby cucumbers.
  • Purchase period: cucumbers bought in December 2022.
  • Instruction: do not eat them until more information became available.
  • Other brands: Qukes was the only cucumber brand under investigation. ABC News reported that other cucumber brands were safe to eat at that time.

The advice was interim. It was issued while the cause was still being examined, and the reports do not say when, or whether, it was formally lifted or replaced.

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Timeline of the reported events

The table below lists the dates given in the two news reports. Neither report gives the date on which the laboratory result was confirmed, so that step is shown without a date.

Date What was reported Source
23 December 2022 A Qukes cucumber was bought at a Perth metropolitan supermarket. PathWest later confirmed Salmonella Typhimurium in it. ABC News
Late December 2022 (confirmation date not stated) PathWest confirmation of Salmonella Typhimurium in the purchased cucumber. ABC News
30 December 2022 ABC News reported WA Health’s urgent warning. It cited 19 ill people and said Perfection Fresh, the South Australian supplier, had been made aware of the situation. ABC News
31 December 2022 7NEWS reported 19 diarrhoeal illnesses, the implicated Qukes product and Salmonella Typhimurium. 7NEWS

Who supplied the cucumbers

Perfection Fresh, a supplier based in South Australia, was named in the ABC report as having been made aware of the situation. The reports do not describe any findings about the supplier, its growing operations or its handling of the product, so no conclusion about responsibility can be drawn from them.

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How to read the illness count

Both news reports cite 19 illnesses. The figure is the count reported at the time of the advisory. It is not a final outbreak total, and the reports do not say whether the number later rose, fell or was revised.

7NEWS described the strain as unique. The reports do not include a laboratory or public health document that supports that description, so it should be treated as unverified.

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What remains unknown

The sources behind this account are two news reports, ABC News and 7NEWS. Neither is an original WA Health notice, and neither is a final investigation report. The following points are not established by those sources:

  • The final number of people who became ill.
  • The source of the contamination and how widely the implicated product was distributed.
  • Whether the investigation was closed, and what conclusion it reached.
  • Whether any corrective actions were taken by growers, suppliers or retailers.
  • The current safety status of Qukes cucumbers.
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What this means if you bought Qukes cucumbers in December 2022

The advice reported at the time was not to eat Qukes baby cucumbers bought that month. Because this article is a retrospective account, it cannot confirm whether that advice was later changed. Anyone with a concern about a food purchase from that period, or about a current food safety issue, should check WA Health directly rather than rely on a news article from 2022.

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