A second produce recall linked to Taylor Farms this summer has made at least 345 people sick, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This recall of jalapeños grown in Mexico has also resulted in 36 hospitalizations and no deaths as of Thursday.
“CDC and public health officials in several states are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to jalapeño peppers,” said the CDC. “Check for recalled jalapeño peppers and do not eat, sell, or serve them.”
Salmonella is bacteria that can cause infection if swallowed. There are about 1.35 million infections caused by salmonella in the U.S. annually, per the CDC, most due to contaminated food. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. Severe infection and complications are possible, especially in children, the elderly and immunocompromised people.
As of this week, the recall included jalapeño peppers sold at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Walmart and Target in addition to Albertsons, H-E-B, Hannaford, Kroger, RaceTrac, Randalls, Stop and Shop, Tom Thumb and Wawa, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Chipotle Mexican Grill and QDOBA also stopped serving affected jalapeño peppers after being notified of the outbreak.
“Given their actions to remove product from their stores, CDC and FDA do not consider there to be a current ongoing risk from these establishments to consumers in this outbreak,” said the CDC.
Jalapeños peppers covered in the recall were from Sinaloa, Mexico, and distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors, epidemiological traceback data suggests. They were distributed to 27 states: 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 FDA said that Taylor Farms products containing jalapeños were part of downstream recalls linked to the Coast Citrus Distributors recall. These products have a “Best If Used By” date of Aug. 16. Various meat and poultry products – such as wraps, burritos and “bowl” meals – that contained the peppers have been recalled as part of the downstream recalls, and a full list provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Safety Inspection Service is available here.
“Taylor Fresh Foods is no longer sourcing products from this farmer and will be filling orders from alternative suppliers,” said the CDC.
Anyone who may have purchased the recalled peppers is advised to throw them out or return them. Any object or surface the peppers touched should be washed using hot soapy water or a dishwasher.
If anyone who may have consumed the peppers experiences diarrhea and a fever higher than 102°F, diarrhea for more than three days, bloody diarrhea, vomiting that prevents keeping liquids down, signs of dehydration, infrequent urination, dry mouth and throat or feeling dizzy when standing up they should contact a doctor or healthcare provider.
Taylor Farms (specifically Taylor Farms de Mexico) is also linked to a large-scale recall of iceberg lettuce due to contamination with the cyclospora parasite, which can cause explosive diarrhea. More than 6,000 cases have been traced to that outbreak in the U.S., including 278 hospitalizations and two deaths.
U.S. public health officials have been criticized for the response to the outbreak. For example, in an opinion piece published this week by USA Today, Rex Huppke slammed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for “gutting” the CDC and FDA and said that Kennedy’s food safety plan amounts to “just stop eating.”
