Amid a massive Cyclospora outbreak linked to its iceberg lettuce, Taylor Farms is now recalling products containing jalapeños, which were linked last week to a large, multi-state Salmonella outbreak.
On Sunday, August 9, Taylor Farms recalled jalapeño-containing products, including diced jalapeños, dips, salsas, pico de gallo, guacamole, and pre-made salads, burritos, and sandwiches. The foods, which include both branded and unbranded products, were sold across 26 states at major retailers, including Hannaford, Kroger, Target, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, and Whole Foods.
The recalled products contain recalled jalapeños from Coast Citrus Distributors, which was linked last week to a Salmonella outbreak that has infected at least 345 people across 27 states, sending at least 36 people to the hospital. No deaths have been reported.
According to the Food and Drug Administration’s outbreak notice, illnesses started being reported on June 19. Outbreak investigators interviewed 191 cases, and of those, 177 reported eating at Mexican-style restaurants, including Chipotle and Qdoba. Chipotle stopped using jalapeños from Coast Citrus on July 20, and Qdoba similarly ditched the peppers on July 28.
On Wednesday, August 5, the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the outbreak and identified Coast Citrus Distributors as the source of suspect jalapeños, which were grown in Sinaloa, Mexico. The FDA said that Coast Citrus had distributed the peppers to other food distributors, restaurants, and food service companies and that Coast Citrus was “in the process of identifying and contacting affected customers.”
It’s unclear why it took Taylor Farms several days to identify that some of its products contained the recalled jalapeños. Ars Technica has asked Taylor Farms about when it realized it was affected by the recall and if it did so because Coast Citrus contacted the company. We will update this story if Taylor Farms responds.