A Houston distributor has recalled five-pound bags of fresh jalapeños sold at two Costco business centers in Texas because the peppers may be contaminated with Salmonella, extending a summer already dominated by a national pepper outbreak.
Dairyland Produce LLC, which does business as Hardie's Fresh Foods of Houston and Dallas, initiated the recall and notified the Food and Drug Administration, which posted the company announcement. The product went to Costco store 1487 at 12717 Network Drive in Stafford and store 0655 at 8282 Park Lane in Dallas. Hardie's has ceased production and distribution of the product.
The company's notice itself does not state a connection to the multistate outbreak. A member letter from Costco, however, described the recalled five-pound bags as jalapenos supplied by Coast Tropical, and outside compilations of jalapeno recalls have listed the product alongside the other downstream recalls stemming from the national investigation. Read together, this looks less like a second, unrelated event and more like one more link in the same supply chain.
The Seven Lot Codes and the Two Locations
The recalled item is listed as PEPPER JALAPENO 5#, sold in clear plastic bags with pink stick-on labels. The affected lot codes are X2741775, X2741859, X2744163, X2744706, X2746349, X2746490, and X2748743, with production dates of July 11, July 15, July 16, July 18, and July 22, according to Food Safety News. The company began the recall on August 12, and the FDA posted the notice afterward. The peppers were repacked by Hardie's rather than grown by it.
Five-pound bags are a business pack, and both locations are Costco business centers. That distribution pattern points toward restaurants, caterers, food trucks, and households that cook in volume rather than a shopper picking up three peppers for salsa. Costco's letter to members covered products purchased between July 13 and August 5, and anyone who bought this size at either location in that window should check the label rather than assume the product has already been used up.
Costco has separately notified members of two jalapeno recalls involving five-pound bags, one affecting product sold at its Orlando business center and one covering the Dallas and Stafford locations, as reported by TODAY. Members who received a notice should read which location and which dates it references before deciding whether it applies to them.
What the Company's Recall History Does and Does Not Show
The FDA has previously posted a recall from the same company, under the same Hardie's Fresh Foods name, for cucumbers with possible Salmonella distributed to Costco locations in Houston and Dallas. That recall has been completed and terminated by the agency, and the notice reported no illnesses tied to the specific product.
The two events share a distributor, a retail channel, and a pathogen, but nothing published by the company or the agency connects them, and repackers of fresh produce sit downstream of many growers. A resemblance between two recalls is not evidence that they share a cause, and readers should not treat it as one.
The Larger Pepper Investigation Running Alongside This One
The national outbreak is a much larger matter. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating a multistate Salmonella Javiana outbreak linked to jalapenos grown in Sinaloa, Mexico, and distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors. Federal figures reported 345 confirmed illnesses across 27 states, 36 hospitalizations, and no deaths as of the most recent update.
That investigation has produced a recall cascade reaching Taylor Fresh Foods, Whole Foods, NatureBest, Albertsons, Hannaford, Kroger, H-E-B, and other retailers, plus a USDA public health alert covering meat and poultry products made with the recalled peppers. Chipotle Mexican Grill and QDOBA stopped serving affected jalapeños after being notified, and QDOBA is no longer serving jalapeños at all. Federal officials have said they do not consider those chains an ongoing risk to consumers.
Salmonella is not visible, and washing a pepper does not reliably remove it. That is why lot code checking, rather than inspection, is the method that works. Recalled produce looks and smells normal.
Who Should Act and Who Should Not Worry
The people with a concrete reason to check are those who bought five-pound bags of jalapeños at the Stafford or Dallas Costco business centers during the relevant window, and anyone running a small food business supplied through those locations. Recalled product should be discarded or returned rather than cooked, since cross-contamination in a kitchen is the common failure point. Freezing does not destroy Salmonella, so frozen leftovers are not safer.
Higher risk from Salmonella falls on children under five, adults over 65, pregnant people, and anyone with a weakened immune system. Symptoms usually begin six hours to six days after exposure and include diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps lasting four to seven days. Most people recover without treatment.
A fever above 102 degrees, bloody stool, vomiting that prevents keeping liquids down, diarrhea lasting more than three days, or signs of dehydration such as reduced urination or dizziness when standing warrant contacting a clinician. Anyone who has been ill recently and ate jalapeños has a specific reason to mention that to their provider, since Salmonella is often not tested for unless someone asks.
Shoppers who did not buy at those two locations do not need to take action based on this recall, though the broader pepper investigation remains open and its product list has expanded more than once.
What is not yet known is whether the FDA will formally tie this recall to the national outbreak, whether it will expand to other Costco locations, and what risk classification the agency will assign. MedicalDaily will report on any expansion or linkage.
Key Questions Answered
What exactly was recalled? Five-pound bags of fresh jalapeños sold under the item description PEPPER JALAPENO 5#, in clear plastic bags with pink stick-on labels, distributed by Dairyland Produce LLC doing business as Hardie's Fresh Foods.
Where were they sold? Costco Business Center 1487 in Stafford, Texas, and Business Center 0655 in Dallas, Texas.
Which lot codes are affected? X2741775, X2741859, X2744163, X2744706, X2746349, X2746490 and X2748743.
Is this part of the national jalapeño outbreak? The FDA notice does not say so. Costco's member letter identified the peppers as supplied by Coast Tropical, and the product has appeared in compilations of recalls stemming from the national investigation.
Have any illnesses been reported related to this product? No illnesses have been publicly linked to this specific recall.
Can washing, cooking, or freezing make them safe? No. Discard or return the recalled product rather than trying to salvage it. Salmonella is not visible, freezing does not destroy it, and cross-contamination during preparation is a common route of exposure.
When should someone see a doctor? Fever above 102 degrees, bloody stool, vomiting that prevents keeping fluids down, diarrhea beyond three days, or signs of dehydration.
