K A S H R U T . C O M_©

July 18, 2026 – from the Consumer Reports

"Given the lack of details provided by Taylor Farms, CR’s experts advise consumers in those states to discard all iceberg lettuce out of an abundance of caution

"Taylor Farms, one of the country’s largest producers of salad greens, said Friday that it is recalling from the U.S. market all iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico after health officials identified a farm in the region as a potential source of the outbreak that has sickened thousands of people across the U.S. this summer.

"The recalled iceberg lettuce products were sent to Walmart stores, Jack in the Box restaurants, and major food service distributors, including Sysco, in 27 states between June 29 and July 16. The states that received the implicated lettuce, which the Food and Drug Administration said was being recalled due to possible contamination with the parasite cyclospora, were: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

"The list of implicated products includes Walmart’s house-brand Marketside, a Walmart spokesperson confirmed. The company has removed four bagged iceberg lettuce salad products from select Walmart stores in the 27 states implicated by the recall, spokesperson Rachael Simmons told CR. The removed products are 12- and 24-ounce bags of Marketside Bagged Iceberg Salad (UPC: 681131328944 and 681131328951, respectively) and 8- and 16-ounce bags of Marketside Bagged Shredded Iceberg Salad (UPC: 681131328968 and 681131532099). The products have “best by” dates ranging from July 18 to Aug. 3, 2026.

"The recall notices posted by Taylor Farms and the FDA are notably sparse on the essential details consumers need to easily identify affected products. The recall notice does not list the full brand names of the implicated products, and instead lists only what appear to be the abbreviations used internally by Taylor Farms to identify brands.

"Walmart’s Marketside house brand, for instance, was listed as “MKTSD” and Sysco, the U.S.’s largest food distributor, was listed as “SY.” Jack in the Box was listed as “JB.” All three companies confirmed that their products were part of the recall after being contacted by Consumer Reports. CR is working to confirm the identities of the five additional brands whose names are abbreviated in the recall notice. Taylor Farms did not immediately respond to CR’s questions about the identity of these brands.

"Given the lack of details, CR’s food safety experts advise consumers in the 27 states where Taylor Farms’ products were distributed to discard all iceberg lettuce out of an abundance of caution."

FDA recall is here

July 17, 2026 from Medpage today:

"Skip bagged salads, salad kits, and boxed salads from the grocery store, and avoid them at restaurants and fast food places, too. Michigan's warning on July 13 (unusual to go public before the FDA) is a strong signal of what they're seeing. Whole heads of lettuce are fine if you strip the outer 2-3 layers, since that's where contamination is most likely to sit."

"Cooking food to an internal temperature of 158°F is the only thing known to kill Cyclospora. This means sautéing raw spinach for about 1.5 minutes. (Turn your salad into a stir fry!)

"Microwaving doesn't work as well because heat spreads unevenly; research shows 45 seconds wasn't enough to kill Cyclospora, so go longer and check that every part, not just the surface, is steaming hot."

Ed. note: This posting is for information purposes only. The editor does not know if the recalled products are certified as kosher.

July 1, 2026: From the COR Detroit:

• BAKER’S CORNER SUGAR at Aldi that bears the K-COR symbol is certified by the Council of Orthodox Rabbis / Vaad Harabbonim of Greater Detroit, although the wording around the symbol does not appear.
• ALDI FRUIT STRIPS bear a Star-K symbol on some packages, while other packages bear no Kashrus marking. Check each package.

Pictures Posted July 2, 2026

July 10, 2026 from the from the Star-K

A Dunkin' store located at 30 Catskill Commons in Catskills, NY, inside Walmart, is displaying a STAR-D letter. The store is not certified. Corrective action is being taken.

July 5, 2026 from Food Safety News:

"Frozen blueberries sold at Publix grocery stores have been recalled because of contamination with E. coli O145:H28. Twelve people have fallen ill.

"On July 3, Frutas y Hortalizas del Sur S.A. the Chilean grower-packer that sells under the Comfrut brand announced the recall of its 10-ounce GreenWise Organic IQF (individually quick frozen) Blueberries after the product tested presumptively positive for E. coli O145:H28, a Shiga toxin–producing E. coli (STEC). The frozen berries were distributed exclusively to Publix stores across eight states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

"The recall covers a single lot – code 6040 01 -with a Best By date of Feb. 9, 2028. According to the company, the recall was prompted by reports of consumers who fell ill after eating the berries, and the notice states there have been 12 confirmed cases of stomach illnesses between May 11 and June 5, 2026 linked to E. coli O145:H28."

July 3, 2026 FDA alert is here.