Thousands of dips recalled as FDA issues most severe risk warning
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given a recall of popular Whole Foods dips its highest risk classification, warning that consuming the items could cause "serious adverse health consequences or death."
The recall, which Whole Foods issued earlier this month, involves products containing jalapeños—such as guacamole and pico de gallo—sourced from Coast Citrus Distributors, a wholesale fresh produce supplier operating across the U.S. and Mexico. The jalapeños are believed to be potentially contaminated with salmonella bacteria.
After the first few cases of salmonella were reported across the country over the summer, federal investigators identified a grower in Sinaloa, Mexico, as the potential source of contamination.
A Class I recall is "a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death," according to the FDA.
The Class I recalls, which involve a total of 12,955 units, have best-before/by dates between August 7 and 14, and they contain the following PLU codes located under the label barcode:
Whole Foods issued its original recall of dozens of products containing jalapeños from its Produce and Prepared Foods departments on August 12, according to the FDA, in a total of 12 states:
"Nothing matters more to us than our customers' safety. We've pulled all recalled products from our shelves. Customers who purchased any of these products from us should throw them away and contact us for a refund," Kristen Orsborn, a spokesperson for Whole Foods Market, previously told Newsweek.
"The only reason why we are issuing this recall is because the items include jalapeño peppers that were part of the Taylor Farms recall that issued over the weekend," a spokesperson for Whole Foods said, as reported by Reuters.
Whole Foods is one of several companies that have been swept up in the latest salmonella outbreak, as are Taylor Farms, which was recently found to be at the center of the cyclospora outbreak, and Jewel-Osco, which recalled two salsas: Chef's Kitchen Fresh Salsa and Ready Meals Fresh Salsa.
Multiple NatureBest-brand and HEB-brand products made with recalled jalapeños were distributed to retail customers in Texas and Louisiana between July 3 and August 5, including packages of pico de gallo, stuffed mushrooms and soup mix.
Taylor Farms' recall included dozens of products sold at Hannaford, Kroger, Stop and Shop, Target, Trader Joe's, Walmart and Whole Foods in 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.
Salmonella is a leading cause of foodborne diseases in the U.S., causing diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps within eight to 72 hours after eating contaminated food and drinking or having contact with contaminated water, according to the Mayo Clinic. Most healthy people would then normally recover after four to seven days without treatment.
But salmonella infections can be particularly dangerous in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems, requiring medical treatment and even hospitalization.
Jalapeño-related salmonella illnesses started being reported between June 19 to August 2, according to the FDA, with 203 of the 224 people interviewed—or 91 percent—saying they had eaten at a Mexican-style restaurant before their illness, including Chipotle Mexican Grill and Qdoba, in a period between June 14 and July 16.
The two restaurants stopped serving affected jalapeño peppers after being notified of the outbreak, and the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have declared there is no ongoing salmonella risk when eating at these establishments.
According to the latest data by the CDC, a total of 431 people infected with the outbreak strain of salmonella have been reported from 32 states. Fifty-seven hospitalizations and no deaths have been reported.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service has also issued a public health alert for meat and poultry products containing FDA-regulated jalapeños that may be contaminated with salmonella.
There is also an ongoing egg-related salmonella outbreak, which has caused 98 reported illnesses and 26 hospitalization in 17 states, but no deaths.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick and Shakeema Edwards.