If you're shopping for salad ingredients, you may want to check out the source of any cucumbers you're considering before you buy. Cucumbers imported from Culiacán, Mexico have caused at least 73 people to become infected with Salmonella Saintpaul, and outbreak strain of the Salmonella bacteria, the CDC reports. Primarily, Californians have been most affected.

Cases of salmonella poisoning have been reported in 18 different states: Arizona (9), California (28), Colorado (1), Idaho (2), Illinois (3), Louisiana (1), Massachusetts (1), Maryland (1), Minnesota (8), Nevada (1), New Mexico (2), North Carolina (1), Ohio (1), Oregon (2), South Dakota (2), Texas (6), Virginia (2), and Wisconsin (2).

Although nearly a third of those infected have been hospitalized, no one has died.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has placed Miracle Greenhouse and Daniel Cardenas Izabal — the two sources of the tained cucumbers — on Import Alert. This means that the two importing firms will be denied admission into the U.S. unless they can show without a doubt that their products are not contaminated with Salmonella.

However, this doesn't mean you're in the clear when it comes to cucumber consumption. Time of onset when it comes to salmonella poisoning averages two to three weeks — in other words, infections that occured towards the end of March and early April may still not have caused symptoms.

Luckily, salmonella infection (or "salmonellosis") is not serious in most people. Symptoms are what you typically associate with food poisoning: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, headache, etc. They uisually last four to seven days. However, a slamonella infection can be dangerous — and even life-threatening — for certain people: infants, pregnant women, older adults, transplant recipients, and those with weakened immune systems.

If you do start to see symptoms of salmonella infection, you should see a doctor right away. This can help public health officials stop the disease outbreak before it becomes widespread and affects at-risk populations.

Although salmonella poisoning is usually associated with uncooked or contaminated chicken, eggs, and ground meat, lately there have been a number of outbreaks connected to produce. For example, the major 2008 salmonella outbreak was linked to fresh jalapeno and serrano peppers and raw tomatoes.

To limit your risk for disease, always wash raw vegetables thoroughly — even if they come prepackaged and with claims to having been "pre-washed."