Whole Foods Pulls Jalapeño Items Amid Salmonella Outbreak
Whole Foods Pulls Jalapeño Items Amid Salmonella Outbreak
The News
Whole Foods is recalling dozens of prepared items containing jalapeños — salsas, guacamole, pico de gallo and other refrigerated foods — after federal investigators tied the peppers to a national salmonella outbreak.
The Amazon-owned, Austin-based chain announced the recall Wednesday. The products were sold online and in the Produce and Prepared Foods departments of stores in 12 states: Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky and Ohio.
The jalapeños came from Coast Citrus Distributors, a wholesale produce supplier operating in the U.S. and Mexico. The FDA says no illnesses have been reported in connection with the recalled Whole Foods products.
The wider outbreak is larger: the CDC has counted 345 people infected with the outbreak strain across 27 states since late July, with 36 hospitalizations and no deaths, according to Newsweek's review of the agency's latest data.
Timeline
The first cases in the outbreak are reported. The CDC begins identifying clusters of salmonella infections around the country.
Federal investigators link the clusters to fresh jalapeños grown in Sinaloa, Mexico, and identify a grower there as the potential source of contamination.
The FDA says Coast Citrus Distributors agreed to recall the affected peppers. Chipotle, Qdoba and Taylor Farms follow with recalls of their own. Taylor Farms issues a voluntary recall of more than a dozen products containing jalapeños over the weekend.
Whole Foods says it has pulled Taylor Farms products from its shelves.
Whole Foods announces its own recall of select salsas, guacamole, pico de gallo and prepared foods. The FDA posts the full product list on its website. The affected items carry "Best Before" or "Best By" dates in early-to-mid August; CBS News reported ranges of Aug. 7–12 and Aug. 9–14, while Newsweek reported dates running through Aug. 16.
Reactions
Whole Foods pinned its recall on its supplier. "The only reason why we are issuing this recall is because the items include jalapeno peppers that were part of the Taylor Farms recall that issued over the weekend," a company spokesman said, as reported by Reuters and cited by Newsweek.
Earlier in the week, after the chain pulled Taylor Farms items, a Whole Foods spokesman told CBS News: "Nothing matters more to us than our customers' safety. Customers who purchased any of these products from us should throw them away and contact us for a refund."
The FDA signaled the retail end of the problem is contained. "Given their actions to remove product from their stores, FDA does not consider there to be a current ongoing risk from these establishments to consumers in this outbreak," the agency said.
What's Next
Customers who bought the recalled items are told not to eat them. Whole Foods says shoppers should throw the products away or bring a valid receipt to any Whole Foods Market store for a full refund.
The FDA and CDC, working with state and local partners, are still investigating the multistate outbreak, and the full list of recalled Whole Foods products is posted on the FDA's website.
The reach may widen further. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a public health alert for meat and poultry products containing FDA-regulated jalapeños that may be contaminated.
More
Taylor Farms sits at the center of two food-safety problems at once. The distributor's recalled Taylor Fresh Foods products went to Hannaford, Kroger, Stop and Shop, Target, Trader Joe's, Walmart and Whole Foods, and the company is also under investigation over a recent cyclospora outbreak traced to iceberg lettuce.
Salmonella causes diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps within eight to 72 hours of exposure, according to the Mayo Clinic, and most healthy people recover in about four to seven days without treatment. It is more dangerous for young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems, who can need hospital care.
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