(LEX 18) Taylor Farms announced it is voluntarily recalling jalapeño products distributed to 26 U.S. states after the products were linked to a potential multi-state salmonella outbreak tied to fresh jalapeño peppers.
Prepared foods sold in grocery stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Target, Kroger, and Walmart are being recalled due to concerns about salmonella linked to jalapeno peppers.
Taylor Fresh Foods announced it is recalling salsas, dips, burritos, sandwiches, and other items containing jalapenos sourced from Coast Citrus Distributors. A full list of the recalled items can be found here.
Taylor Fresh Foods said it is not aware of any reported illnesses being linked to its recalled products containing jalapenos, and said people should throw away the products and ask the store for a refund.
Salmonella is a type of bacteria that can cause foodborne illness, usually after eating contaminated food such as undercooked meat, eggs, or produce. Infection commonly causes diarrhea, fever, stomach cramps, nausea, and vomiting, with symptoms typically lasting several days.
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Taylor Farms said it is working with federal health officials to investigate the outbreak, which has been linked to fresh jalapeño peppers supplied by Coast Citrus Distributors. Taylor Farms identified a grower from Sinaloa, Mexico, as a potential source of the outbreak and said it is no longer sourcing products from that farmer.
Recalled products were distributed to numerous states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
The recalled products have a “Best If Used By” date up to and including Aug. 16, 2026.
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Consumers who have any of the recalled products are urged to discard them immediately and not consume them. Refunds are available at the location of purchase.
Lettuce distributed by Taylor Farms was recently linked to a separate cyclospora outbreak in the U.S. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a test on the Taylor Farms lettuce was a false positive.
Separate alert issued over meat and poultry products
The USDA also issued a public health alert for meat and poultry products containing jalapenos sold at various grocery stores, including wraps, bowls, and enchiladas.
Regulators said there had been no confirmed reports of illness linked to the meat and poultry products, but urged anyone with the products in their refrigerators or freezers to throw them away.
Dr. Don Schaffner, a food microbiology professor at Rutgers University, said it’s important to understand that as the recalls and warnings expand, there may not necessarily be more people getting sick from those products.
“Although it may look like, ‘Oh my God, it’s getting worse, the food supply is unsafe,’ … this expansion of this recall is typical of what we see in a food poisoning outbreak,” Schaffner said. “We have implicated product, we trace that back to the source, and then we trace forward to look where else those jalapeno peppers may have gone. In this case, we’ve learned about some additional foods that might have incorporated those contaminated jalapenos … not that they are necessarily causing illness.”
Eating food contaminated with salmonella can cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever, and more severe symptoms for those with compromised immune systems. Schaffner said salmonella illnesses typically set in within 24 to 72 hours after consuming a contaminated food.
“If you’ve eaten the food more than 72 hours ago, you’re probably in the clear,” he said.