FDA elevates jalapeno dressing recall to highest risk category

The Food and Drug Administration has classified a recall of Salata Dressings' Jalapeno Avocado Dressing as a Class I recall, its highest risk category, nearly two months after the Houston company first pulled the product over possible Salmonella contamination.

The designation, reported this week by Newsweek, means the FDA has determined there is a "reasonable probability" that using the product "will cause serious adverse health consequences or death." Class I is reserved for the most severe recalls the agency tracks.

Traced to peppers from Mexico

According to the company's original recall notice posted on FDA.gov, Salata Dressings pulled its 12-ounce Jalapeno Avocado Dressing, sold at H-E-B stores in Texas, after a supplier flagged that diced jalapenos used in the product had the "potential to be contaminated with Salmonella." The affected dressing was produced between July 8 and July 29 and distributed to stores between July 13 and Aug. 5, with best-by dates of Nov. 5, 13, 18 or 25.

The contamination traces back to a larger multistate outbreak investigation tied to fresh jalapenos grown in Sinaloa, Mexico, and distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors. The FDA has linked the outbreak to Salmonella Javiana and says at least five companies — including Salata Dressings, Taylor Fresh Foods, Whole Foods Market and two other produce processors — issued recalls of finished products made with the affected peppers after Coast Citrus expanded its own recall in early August.

No illnesses have been reported in connection with the Salata dressing specifically, the company said in its original notice, though Salmonella infections tied to the broader jalapeno outbreak have been reported elsewhere.

What shoppers should do

Salmonella infections typically cause fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps within a few days of exposure, and can turn serious or life-threatening in young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems, according to the FDA. Salata Dressings is urging anyone who bought the Jalapeno Avocado Dressing from H-E-B to return it to the store for a full refund rather than consume or discard it at home.

Consumers with questions about the recall can contact the company directly, the FDA notice said. The Class I classification does not require consumers to take any different action than they would for the original recall, but it signals the agency views the health risk as more serious than initially assessed — a distinction food-safety advocates say often gets lost when a recall first makes headlines and then fades from attention.

The broader Sinaloa jalapeno investigation remains open, and the FDA has said additional recalls tied to the same peppers could still be announced as it continues tracing the contaminated produce through the supply chain.