Taylor Farms recalls salsa, guacamole over salmonella fears after company linked to explosive diarrhea outbreak

Taylor Farms – the food supplier linked to a rampant outbreak of cyclospora – is recalling more than a dozen food items containing jalapeños, like salsa and guacamole, from major grocery chains over a separate string of salmonella illnesses.The Salinas, Calif.-based food distributor announced Sunday it is pulling products from shelves that contain jalapeño peppers, including salsas, guacamoles, burritos, taco dips and shrimp salads.The recalled products were sent to distribution centers across more than two dozen states, including New York, and sold at major retailers like Hannaford, Kroger, Stop & Shop, Target, Trader Joe’s, Walmart and Whole Foods.A multistate salmonella outbreak – which has sickened at least 345 people and led to 36 hospitalizations – has been linked to fresh jalapeños from a farmer in Sinaloa, Mexico, that were distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors.Taylor Farms said Sunday that it was “no longer” sourcing fresh jalapeños from that same farmer and that it is unaware of any reported illnesses linked to its recalled prepared food items.Last month, federal health officials tied a widespread outbreak of cyclospora – an explosive diarrhea-causing parasite – to iceberg lettuce from Mexico supplied by Taylor Farms.Taco Bell is the only major national restaurant chain to be linked to the outbreak, though it has already recalled the contaminated products and started to see sales bounce back. An estimated 20,000 people have been sickened with cyclosporiasis, hundreds have been hospitalized and there have been at least two deaths, according to the CDC.The recalls have stoked fears of how consolidation in the food industry can raise the odds of outbreaks and left restaurant chains scrambling to win back diners who are still wary of lettuce and other fresh produce.Sweetgreen, Chipotle and QDOBA, a Mexican fast-food restaurant chain, have pulled Coast Citrus jalapeños from hundreds of store locations following the recall.Many res...