FDA Posts Final Report on Salmonella Outbreak Traced to Jalapeño Peppers, 488 People Sickened Across 38 States and 26 Hospitalized
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has posted an executive summary report on an investigation into Salmonella infections traced to jalapeño peppers, Food Safety News reported on November 14, 2026.
The outbreak ultimately sickened 488 people across 38 states, with 26 of the patients requiring hospitalization. No deaths were reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that for every patient identified in a Salmonella outbreak there are 29 who go undetected.
The outbreak was first reported to the FDA on July 10 by its Minneapolis District Emergency Response Coordinator, involving an emerging cluster of Salmonella Javiana cases with a signal for Chipotle Mexican Grill.
During the initial phase of the investigation and continuing through to its end, the FDA found jalapeño peppers imported by Coast Citrus Distributors of San Diego, California, to be the outbreak vehicle. The names of the supplier, grower and ranch where the peppers were grown in Sinaloa, Mexico, were redacted in the executive summary.
On July 22, Coast Citrus Distributors initiated a limited recall of jalapeño peppers, which was expanded on August 5 to include all remaining jalapeño peppers it imported. On September 24, 2026, the redacted party was added to the red list of Import Alert 99-35, covering detention without physical examination of fresh produce that appears to have been prepared, packed or held under insanitary conditions.
Due to strong epidemiological association and traceback convergence, the FDA's executive summary concluded that jalapeño peppers distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors, supplied by the redacted supplier and grown at the redacted ranch, were confirmed as the outbreak vehicle. The report does not name the grower or exporter.
Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：一碗红墨西哥胡椒。作者与授权：jeffreyw，CC BY 2.0，维基共享资源。 / Photo: A bowl of red jalapeño peppers. Credit: jeffreyw, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
