4 Active Salmonella Outbreaks. 2 With Sources ID’d: Jalapeños, Eggs
The U.S. is currently grappling with 12 ongoing foodborne illness outbreaks, including four Salmonella strains, according to the FDA. This reflects a "two steps forward, two steps backward" situation, with new outbreaks emerging as others conclude. A Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:- outbreak has sickened 30, while a Salmonella Oranienburg outbreak, active since July 8, has 97 reported cases, both with unidentified sources. However, progress has been made on two fronts: Salmonella Javiana has been linked to jalapeños imported by Coast Citrus Distributors, leading to recalls from companies like Taylor Fresh Foods and Whole Foods. Additionally, Salmonella Enteritidis has been traced to shelled eggs from Midwest Poultry Services, causing 98 illnesses and 26 hospitalizations. Concerns persist regarding the slow pace of source identification and the effectiveness of federal foodborne illness prevention programs.
Well, when it comes to the latest foodborne illness outbreak—a Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:- one—the answer is “Ongoing” without any identified source yet. That’s what you can find on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s list of Investigations of Foodborne Illness Outbreaks. This brings the number of “Ongoing” Salmonella outbreaks listed up to four and the total number of ongoing foodborne illness outbreaks back up to a dirty dozen.
So basically, in the over two weeks since I wrote in Forbes about a dozen ongoing foodborne illness outbreaks, the U.S. remains stuck at the same number. Two of the outbreaks that were listed as of the end of July have been declared as ended. But then two new ones have subsequently been added: a Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:- one and yet another Cyclospora one.
This is basically a two steps forward, two steps backward situation. It does make you wonder what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is doing to prevent and control such outbreaks, especially after the Trump administration specifically cut foodborne illness prevention programs in 2025. And why it is taking so long to identify the sources of so many different outbreaks. As I’ve indicated previously, I have continued to reach out to contacts at HHS and will provide updates accordingly. The sources haven’t been identified for nine of the ongoing foodborne illness outbreaks and two of the ongoing Salmonella outbreaks.
One of those Salmonella outbreaks is the I 4,[5],12:i:-, which has been a #%^@*% one with at least 30 reported cases so far. The FDA web site doesn’t offer much more specifics about this. I’ve described before in Forbes how Salmonella can leave you with a bloody diarrhea situation—both literally and figuratively—and even so ill that you get hospitalized, especially if you have a weaker immune system. Since “not eating anything” would not be very practical advice, it’s not clear what to do about this outbreak until the federal government can provide more info.
The other Salmonella outbreak where suspect products have not yet been identified is a Salmonella Oranienburg one. This has been on the FDA list since July 8, which was over a month ago. This outbreak has already had at least 97 reported cases. The status of the investigation is listed as “Active.” But it is unclear how “active” this investigation really is, meaning what exactly has been and is being done about this.
The hot news, though, is that the Salmonella Javiana outbreak that was first listed on the FDA website on July 22 now has a suspected culprit: jalapeños. As you can see in an August 5 FDA announcement, this stemmed from first interviewing 191 out of the 345 people from 27 states who had been affected. Such interviews revealed that 95 percent had eaten at a Mexican-style restaurant like Chipotle Mexican Grill and QDOBA before their illnesses.
Further investigation revealed a rather spicy finding—Chipotle and QDOBA had gotten jalapeños imported by Coast Citrus Distributors from Sinaloa, Mexico. Some more sleuthing led the FDA to recommended that Coast Citrus Distributors recall such products. Of course, a challenge with jalapeños is that many other products are literally peppered with such a vegatable.
That prompted Taylor Fresh Foods—you know the company also involved in the Cyclospora situation—to recall their products that had such jalapeños, as described in a August 10 update to the FDA announcement. This included products with “Best If Used By” dates up to and including August 16, 2026, that were sold in a wide variety of stores such as Hannaford, Kroger, Stop and Shop, Target, Trader Joe’s, Walmart and Whole Foods. Then there was that “Whole” update on August 12. Whole Foods Market has issued recalls of select salsas, guacamole, pico de gallo and prepared foods products that had such jalapeños.
The FDA has shelled out as well more info about the Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak infections that was first listed on the FDA website on June 10. The FDA indicated on July 24 that shelled eggs are a suspected culprit, which has led to Midwest Poultry Services, L.P. recalling white shell eggs and brown cage free shell eggs that were produced and distributed from farms in Texas between June 6, 2026 and July 3, 2026. These shelled eggs had sell by or best by dates between July 20, 2026 and August 17, 2026.
This outbreak has already affected at least 98 people from 17 different states. The result has been at least 26 hospitalizations but fortunately no deaths reported. So, you may want to be egg-stra careful and check your eggs. If you have any products that have been recalled, either discard or return them as soon as possible. You don’t want bloody diarrhea on your August Bingo card.
The ongoing question then is what is the FDA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services doing to shore up its foodborne illness prevention and control efforts. Otherwise, Americans may have to continue to ask the following: Salmonella, does it show again? My, my, just how much has the government missed you?