Multiple Salmonella Recalls Sweep U.S. As New Summer Outbreaks Emerge
Just as the United States’ recent widespread surge in gastrointestinal illness begins to ease, a new wave of food safety hazards is emerging to spark public concern. Multiple common consumer products—from jalapeño peppers and table eggs to specialty granola and even commercial dog food—are currently under recall over potential salmonella contamination.
According to an August 19 update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a widening salmonella outbreak tied to contaminated jalapeños has already sickened 431 people across 32 states, with 57 patients requiring inpatient hospital care. CDC investigators traced the outbreak to jalapeños grown in Sinaloa, Mexico, and distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors. After the company agreed to recall the affected produce, major retail chains including Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Kroger, and Target pulled all jalapeño-containing products—including pre-made salsa, guacamole, and salad dressing—from store shelves nationwide. Popular fast-casual restaurant brands Chipotle and Qdoba also removed the implicated jalapeños from their menus.
A separate, unrelated salmonella outbreak linked to commercial table eggs has left 98 people ill across 17 states, 26 of whom have required hospitalization. Public health officials have identified Midwest Poultry Services as a shared supplier for a portion of affected cases, though they note the company’s eggs do not account for all illnesses in this outbreak, and investigations into additional contamination sources are ongoing. In July, Midwest Poultry Services launched a voluntary recall of 19 million eggs produced at and distributed from partner farms in Texas over potential salmonella contamination.
Another ongoing recall targets a specialized consumer product: Hampton Grocers’ Lacnola Lactation Granola, which is being pulled from shelves over potential salmonella risk tied to its organic moringa powder ingredient. Moringa powder, a nutrient-dense green product made from the leaves of the South Asian native moringa tree, has been connected to multiple salmonella outbreaks linked to imported powder and moringa-containing dietary supplements across the U.S. since last year.
Salmonella contamination has also reached pet food supplies: Oma’s Pride is recalling batches of its Woof Complete Canine Chicken Recipe after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tested a consumer-submitted sample that returned a positive result for the bacteria. Per an official FDA public notice, three confirmed cases of salmonella illness in dogs have been linked to the affected product.
Common symptoms of a salmonella infection include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramping, which typically develop between 12 and 72 hours after consuming contaminated food. For vulnerable groups including young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems, salmonella can cause severe, potentially fatal infections.
Ellen Shumaker, a food safety expert with NC State Extension, explains that salmonella outbreaks are particularly common during summer months for multiple reasons. “People tend to eat more fresh produce in the summer, and we also dine outside far more often,” she notes. “When we see warmer temperatures, that creates conditions that are favorable for bacteria like salmonella or parasites like cyclospora to grow.” Food left unrefrigerated for more than two hours, for example at outdoor barbecues and picnics, quickly becomes unsafe to consume.
So how does salmonella end up contaminating our food supply in the first place? Unlike cyclospora, which only causes illness in humans, salmonella can infect both people and animals. The current egg outbreak involves Salmonella enteritidis, a strain well-known for targeting poultry. The bacteria can colonize the reproductive tract of laying hens, passing into eggs before their shells even form. Hens can be exposed to salmonella through contaminated feed, water, or soil, or through contact with infected wild animals or other livestock. Human workers can also introduce the bacteria to laying facilities if it is carried on their clothing or shoes.
“This specific type of salmonella has long been associated with eggs, so this is a well-documented known issue,” says Jennifer McEntire, a food microbiologist and founder of the food safety consulting firm Food Safety Strategy. Current FDA regulations require egg producers with 3,000 or more laying hens to regularly test for this strain of salmonella.
For fresh produce like jalapeños, salmonella is most often transmitted through contaminated irrigation water—the same pathway that is thought to be the main spread route for cyclospora, per public health research. Edward Dudley, a professor of food science at Penn State, explains that in growing regions where produce farms are located close to livestock operations, there is always a risk that waste from infected animals will come into contact with produce crops.
“The closer those two types of farms are to each other, the greater the chance that salmonella or E. coli from animal waste will get into surface waters used for irrigation, and eventually be transmitted to the food we eat,” Dudley says.
Dudley notes that consumers do not need to be overly alarmed about the current wave of outbreaks, especially if they have already discarded any recalled products they purchased—but he advises staying cautious. Basic preventative steps include washing hands before handling food, regularly sanitizing food preparation and cooking surfaces, refrigerating perishable items promptly, cooking foods to their recommended safe internal temperature, and keeping raw meat, eggs, and poultry separated from ready-to-eat foods in the kitchen.
“We have a technology right now that can completely eliminate salmonella in food, and it’s called cooking,” Dudley says. “But in the United States, we like eating fresh produce.”
That preference aligns with recent public messaging from U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has spent this summer encouraging increased fresh produce consumption between promoting his preferred diet centered on meat and fermented foods.
