Jalapeño Recall: Salsa and Dips Pulled Over Salmonella

What Was Recalled?

If you have salsa, guacamole, pico de gallo, or a prepared dip in your fridge, check the UPC against the list below before you eat it. Taylor Fresh Foods recalled 20 products sold at Hannaford, Kroger, Stop & Shop, Target, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, and Whole Foods after the jalapeños in them were tied to a Salmonella outbreak.

The peppers came from a single grower in Sinaloa, Mexico, and were imported by Coast Citrus Distributors of San Diego. Taylor Fresh Foods, which operates as Taylor Farms, is a Salinas, California produce processor that turns bulk ingredients into the packaged dips and prepared foods supermarkets sell under their own labels.

The FDA traced the outbreak to that grower, recommended Coast Citrus recall its remaining peppers, and Coast Citrus agreed. Every other recall in this story is downstream of that one.

Which Products Are Affected?

The recalled products carry store-brand labels or no brand name at all, and every one has a “Best If Used By” date up to and including August 16, 2026.

Two entries in the FDA’s table are both listed as Salsa Roja Medium 12 oz with different UPCs, while the product photos published alongside them label the first one Salsa Verde Mild. Match on the UPC rather than the product name if you have either.

Whole Foods issued its own separate recall on August 12 covering salsas, guacamole, pico de gallo, and prepared foods from its Produce and Prepared Foods departments in twelve states, identified by PLU code rather than UPC.

Why Was It Recalled?

The jalapeños are linked to an outbreak of Salmonella Javiana that the CDC counts at 345 illnesses across 27 states, with 36 hospitalizations and no deaths. Illnesses began between June 19 and July 20, 2026.

Investigators interviewed 191 of the sick, and 177 of them — 93% — had eaten at a Mexican-style restaurant beforehand, with meals ranging from June 14 to July 14. That pattern pointed investigators at food service rather than grocery shelves.

Salmonella infection usually starts 12 to 72 hours after eating contaminated food and lasts four to seven days, with diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. The FDA notes that children under five, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to become seriously ill.

Taylor Fresh Foods says it is not aware of any illnesses linked to its own products.

What Should Consumers Do?

• Check the UPC and best-by date on any salsa, dip, guacamole, or prepared food from the seven listed stores.
• Throw recalled product away. Taylor Farms tells consumers to discard it rather than return it.
• Clean anything it touched — containers, shelves, counters, utensils — because Salmonella spreads by cross-contamination.
• Don’t eat it after freezing it. Freezing does not make contaminated product safe.
• Contact your doctor if you have symptoms of a Salmonella infection after eating jalapeños or dining at a Mexican-style restaurant.

Refund, Replacement or Repair Information

Refunds are available at the store where you bought the product. Taylor Farms states this plainly in its recall notice and sets no deadline.

Photograph the package and the UPC before you throw it out, since the container is normally what proves what you bought, and bring that photo along with a receipt if you have one.

Whole Foods handles its own recalled items separately and asks for a valid receipt for a full refund at any of its stores.

Taylor Farms customer care is 855-455-0098, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific, for anything a store won’t resolve.

Where Was It Sold?

Taylor Farms shipped the recalled products to retail distribution centers in 26 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Most individual products went to far fewer states than that, as the last column of the table shows.

Did I Get Sick at a Restaurant?

Chipotle and QDOBA both received jalapeños imported by Coast Citrus. Chipotle switched suppliers for affected stores starting July 20, and QDOBA stopped serving jalapeños entirely on July 28.

Because both chains removed the peppers, the FDA has said it does not consider either to pose a current risk to diners.

Neither chain has announced any refund or compensation for meals already eaten.

Are Fresh Jalapeños in Stores Affected?

The FDA states that Coast Citrus does not appear to supply jalapeños directly to grocery stores, so peppers you bought whole are unlikely to trace back to this importer.

That is not a guarantee, and the FDA is still working with Coast Citrus to map the full distribution. If you can’t establish where your peppers came from, the agency’s guidance is to discard them.

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a separate public health alert for meat and poultry products containing these jalapeños, with its own product list.

What If I Got Sick?

See a healthcare provider and tell them you may have been exposed to Salmonella, which determines whether they test a stool sample.

No compensation fund, settlement, or payment for illness is attached to any of these recalls — the refund covers the salsa and nothing else.

Keep your receipt, the packaging or a photograph of it, and any medical records.

Legal options exist for people sickened by contaminated food. This page is not legal or medical advice and does not recommend a firm.

How to Report an Incident

Report an illness or a complaint about a recalled product to the FDA through its Industry and Consumer Assistance channel, or call 1-888-INFO-FDA.

Report the illness itself to your state or local health department, which is how a case enters the CDC’s count and where the interviews that identified these peppers were conducted.

Official Recall Information

The FDA lists this outbreak investigation as ongoing and updated it most recently on August 13, 2026.

FSIS issued its alert on August 8, Taylor Fresh Foods recalled on August 9, and Whole Foods recalled on August 12 — three actions tracking the same peppers through different supply chains.

None of these recalls has an FDA classification or enforcement report number yet. Those follow weeks after a company announcement, and this page will be updated as the agency adds them or as more downstream recalls appear.

Frequently Asked Questions

What jalapeño products are recalled?

Twenty Taylor Farms products sold at Hannaford, Kroger, Stop & Shop, Target, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, and Whole Foods, all with best-by dates through August 16, 2026. Whole Foods separately recalled its own salsas, guacamole, and prepared foods on August 12.

How do I know if my salsa is recalled?

Match the UPC on the package against the table above, then check the best-by date. Product names repeat across brands and store labels, so the UPC is the reliable identifier.

Can I get a refund for recalled salsa or guacamole?

Yes. Refunds are available at the store where you bought it, and Taylor Farms tells consumers to discard the product rather than bring it back. Photograph the label and UPC before throwing it out.

Is it safe to eat at Chipotle or QDOBA?

The FDA has said it does not consider either chain to pose a current risk, because Chipotle switched jalapeño suppliers on July 20 and QDOBA stopped serving jalapeños on July 28.

How many people got sick from the jalapeño outbreak?

The CDC counts 345 illnesses across 27 states with 36 hospitalizations and no deaths, with onsets between June 19 and July 20, 2026.

Are whole jalapeños from the grocery store recalled?

The FDA says Coast Citrus does not appear to supply jalapeños directly to grocery stores. Distribution is still being mapped, and the agency advises discarding peppers whose source you can’t determine.

About This Page

RecallRefunds.com is a consumer information site. We are not a recall administrator, a law firm, a government agency, or a manufacturer, and we are not affiliated with Taylor Farms, Coast Citrus Distributors, or any retailer named here. This page summarizes public recalls and an active FDA outbreak investigation, and is general information rather than legal or medical advice.