Two produce suppliers recalled 5-pound bags of fresh jalapeno peppers sold through Costco stores in August 2026, after the peppers showed up as a possible source of Salmonella.Â
The Texas Recall
Dairyland Produce LLC, which operates as Hardie’s Fresh Foods out of Houston and Dallas, recalled its PEPPER JALAPENO 5# bags on August 12. The peppers went to two Costco stores in Texas: Store #1487 at 12717 Network Drive in Stafford, and Store #0655 at 8282 Park Lane in Dallas.
The bags are easy to spot once you know what you’re looking at. Clear plastic bags, with Costco’s item number 514606 on the label. The recalled lot codes are X2741775, X2741859, X2744163, X2744706, X2746349, X2746490, and X2748743.
Five production dates are stamped on the affected bags: 26192 (July 11), 26196 (July 15), 26197 (July 16), 26199 (July 18), and 26203 (July 22). Hardie’s repacked these peppers rather than growing them, and it has stopped making and shipping the product.
One thing worth knowing if you buy in bulk and freeze what you can’t use fast: cold storage does nothing here. Freezing does not get rid of Salmonella, so a bag you tucked away for later still needs to go in the trash or back to the store.
Florida Had Its Own
On August 6, Costco posted a recall out of Florida. Todd’s Quality Tomatoes, Inc. of Sanford recalled its 5-pound bags of green jalapenos sold at the Costco Orlando Business Center between July 23 and August 5.
The two recalls share the same item number, 514606, which makes them easy to mix up. The Texas bags trace back to jalapenos grown in Sinaloa, Mexico, and distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors.
Todd’s is handling that recall directly, so questions about the Orlando batch go to the company rather than to the warehouse.
The Outbreak Behind Both Recalls
Both Costco recalls are small pieces of a much bigger mess. The CDC and FDA have been chasing a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Javiana tied to jalapenos grown in Sinaloa, Mexico, and shipped across the country by Coast Citrus Distributors. The CDC put out its formal alert on August 5.
As of August 19, the count stood at 431 people sick across 32 states, with no deaths reported. Of the 376 patients with information available, 57 were hospitalized. The first illness started June 19 and the most recent began August 2. Patients ranged in age from under 1 to 85.
The real number is almost certainly higher, since plenty of cases never get tested or reported, and recent illnesses take three to four weeks to surface. It’s a textbook supply-chain problem too. One grower’s peppers move through a single distributor to dozens of restaurants before anyone is even diagnosed.
Chipotle and Qdoba Are Tangled Up in It
When investigators sat down with people who got sick, a pattern jumped out fast. Of 224 people interviewed, 203 (91 percent) said they had eaten at a Mexican-style restaurant in the days before their symptoms started. The ingredients reported most often were jalapeno pepper, red onion, cilantro, and avocado.
Chipotle Mexican Grill and Qdoba came up by name, with 28 illness clusters traced to their locations across 8 states. Chipotle swapped jalapeno suppliers for affected stores starting July 20. Qdoba stopped serving jalapenos altogether on July 28. The FDA says it does not consider there to be a current ongoing risk from those restaurants.
The Recall Didn’t Stop at Fresh Peppers
The same peppers ended up in a long list of packaged foods, and those got pulled too. Taylor Fresh Foods recalled dips, salsa, guacamole, pico de gallo, diced jalapenos and several prepared items sold under store brands including Kroger, Trader Joe’s and Walmart, plus Taylor Farms-branded products at Target, with best-by dates running through August 16.
Whole Foods pulled salsa, guacamole, pico de gallo, and prepared foods in 12 states, carrying best-by dates from August 7 through August 16. NatureBest recalled pico de gallo, stuffed mushrooms and soup mix under its own name and the H-E-B brand in Texas and Louisiana. Salata pulled its jalapeno avocado dressing on August 11, and the USDA issued a public health alert for meat and poultry products made with the peppers.
Costco Won’t Always Send You the Memo
Costco does not email every member about every recall, which means plenty of shoppers never hear a word about a bag they carried out the door. If you shop the Stafford, Dallas, or Orlando Business Centers, go check your peppers against the lot codes and item number before you cook with them. When the bag matches, or you simply can’t tell, bring it back.
The FDA investigation was still open as of late August, though no new company has been added to the recall list since August 12. For a bag of jalapenos, that’s a lot of paperwork. For your money, it’s a quick trip back to the warehouse.
