Why Taylor Farms is facing scrutiny over salmonella and cyclospora outbreaks

Taylor Farms, whose lettuce public health officials have identified as the source of this summer's widespread cyclosporiasis outbreak, now faces another serious food safety issue.

The Salinas, California, produce supplier recently recalled several food items made with jalapeños suspected of being contaminated with salmonella. 

But Jennifer McEntire, founder of food safety consulting firm Food Safety Strategy, drew an important distinction between the two recalls. Taylor Farms did not grow the jalapeños used to make a variety of pepper-based products, including pico de gallo salsa and guacamole, that it has now recalled due to salmonella risks. 

By contrast, Taylor Farms' Mexican operation is known to have produced the lettuce that has caused thousands of cases of cyclosporiasis across the U.S. since May 1.

"The issue with jalapeños is very, very different. The jalapeños came from a separate grower, handled by a different importer that sold them to a number of different entities," McEntire told CBS News, noting that she views Taylor Farms' involvement in the jalapeño recall as "an extremely unfortunate coincidence."

"They happened to receive these jalapeños, so it puts them in the news once again," she added. 

Coast Citrus Distributors supplied the recalled peppers to Taylor Farms, which used them in some of its prepared foods. The peppers, which came from a grower in Sinaloa, Mexico, were used in products distributed to major grocers across the U.S., including Kroger, Target, Trader Joe's, Walmart and Whole Foods.

Found in many foods

For consumers, of course, the latest food safety concerns can be alarming given that lettuce and jalapeño peppers are used in many of the roughly 1 billion meals Americans consume daily. Jalapeños can be sold whole, but are most often consumed as an ingredient in salsa, burritos, guacamole, dips, salads and other products. 

Lettuce is also an integral part of Americans' diets, with the recalled product making its way into meals served at Taco Bell restaurants, for example. Both recalls have caused alarm among consumers who fear some produce is unsafe to consume, or who no longer trust the systems designed to keep the nation's food supply safe. 

Although McEntire acknowledged the public health concerns amid the cyclosporiasis and salmonella outbreaks, she said U.S. safety monitoring systems are largely effective and more broadly described the nation's food supply as "remarkably safe." 

At the same time, the mounting public focus on food safety could spur industry changes, she said. 

"Food safety has always been the industry's main concern because people eat produce fresh or raw," McEntire said. "But given the issues we've encountered, there will absolutely be some bigger calls to action to bring the industry together, so it's not each grower on their own. One person's issue becomes everyone's in the produce industry, so expect new efforts around collaboration and sharing of information."

The entire industry, she added, "will be highly motivated to make sure there is no weak link."

What is Taylor Farms' history of food safety?

Taylor Farms has been connected to several previous food safety investigations and recalls.

In 2024, the company supplied sliced onions served on McDonald's Quarter Pounders that were contaminated with E. coli, leading to one death and more than 100 illnesses, according to the FDA. The FDA found dozens of violations at a Taylor Farms facility that supplied the onions, including dirty equipment. 

In 2020, Taylor Farms also recalled several onion-containing products from a third-party supplier due to concerns that they could be contaminated with Salmonella.