Beware: Check Your Fridge First Jalapeño Recall Expands Into Texas

If there is one pepper Texans know how to use, it's the jalapeño. We slice them onto burgers, toss them into salsa, add them to nachos and barbecue, stuff them with cheese, and sometimes eat them straight off the grill.

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However, Texans are being urged to check their refrigerators following a multistate Salmonella outbreak connected to certain fresh jalapeño peppers grown in Sinaloa, Mexico, and distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller issued a warning Friday, August 14, encouraging Texans to pay close attention to federal food-safety guidance while also stressing the importance of knowing where our food comes from.

Salmonella Outbreak Has Sickened Hundreds

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 345 people across 27 states have been infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella. At least 36 people have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported. Texas is among the states reporting illnesses.

The investigation traced the outbreak to jalapeños grown in Sinaloa and distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors. The company has agreed to recall the peppers linked to the outbreak.

This isn't limited to bags or boxes of whole jalapeños. Some of the recalled peppers were used as ingredients in prepared foods sold at retailers.

Some Prepared Foods Are Also Included

This is especially important for Texans because NatureBest Precut & Produce recalled some NatureBest and H-E-B-brand products containing the affected jalapeños.

Those products were distributed to retail customers in Texas and Louisiana between July 3 and August 5 and include items such as pico de gallo, diced jalapeños, stuffed mushrooms and soup mix.

Additional recalled foods containing the jalapeños were distributed to retailers including Walmart, Target, Kroger, Whole Foods and others. Products range from salsa and guacamole to sandwiches, salads, wraps, burritos, and bowls.

The FDA recommends checking its current recall information rather than assuming every jalapeño or every product containing jalapeños is affected.

What Texans Should Do

The CDC says consumers should not eat recalled jalapeños or recalled foods containing them. Instead, throw the food away or return it to the place of purchase. Any surfaces, containers, or utensils that may have touched recalled peppers should be thoroughly washed and sanitized.

Salmonella commonly causes diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. Symptoms can begin anywhere from six hours to six days after exposure, and most people recover within four to seven days. Young children, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems are at greater risk of serious illness.

Anyone experiencing severe symptoms, including bloody diarrhea, prolonged diarrhea, a fever above 102 degrees, excessive vomiting or signs of dehydration, should contact a healthcare provider.

Miller Says Buy Texas When You Can

Commissioner Miller used the outbreak to encourage consumers to support Texas and American agriculture whenever possible, saying domestic farmers operate under strict food-safety requirements.

And he certainly understands Texans' relationship with this particular pepper, joking that jalapeños are "practically their own food group in Texas."

I don't know if I'd go quite that far, but around West Texas, it's pretty close.

For now, the message is simple: you don't have to give up the jalapeños. Just check what you bought, pay attention to the latest recall information, and make sure the peppers putting the heat on your next plate aren't putting your health at risk.

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