The source of an ongoing E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 50 people was chicken wraps sold at Trader Joe's, federal health authorities confirmed.
The Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) confirmed the link in an email to USA TODAY on Friday, Oct. 23, following a USA TODAY story about a lawsuit and investigation related to the outbreak. The lawsuit, along with state investigation documents reviewed by USA TODAY, named Trader Joe's Tarragon Chicken Salad Wraps as the source.
Trader Joe's confirmed in an Oct. 20 email to USA TODAY that it pulled its Tarragon Chicken Salad Wraps from shelves in 9 states after
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notified the chain in September that there may be a "possible issue" with them.
"The E. coli O157:H7 outbreak (2026-04) investigation identified ready-to-eat, multi-ingredient chicken wraps from certain Trader Joe’s stores as a common exposure among people who became sick," FSIS said in its statement. "The wraps reported by some cases very early in the investigation were proactively removed from the market by Trader Joe’s before a link to the outbreak was established."
The Food and Drug Administration, along with the USDA, had previously identified the source of the outbreak only as an unnamed "Ready-To-Eat Multi-ingredient wrap with chicken." The public FDAand FSIS entries for the outbreak still listed the unspecified wraps as of Friday, Oct. 23.
The USDA is still working alongside other agencies to investigate the ingredient that was the source, it said, and "extensive product testing" has all been negative. It is unlikely to be chicken, it added, as chicken is rarely the source of the outbreak strain of E. coli (E. coli O157:H7), also known as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, or STEC, a type of foodborne illness that sometimes causes a serious condition that can lead to kidney damage called hemolytic uremic syndrome.
Historically, health agencies like the FDA and USDA have named multi-ingredient products during associated outbreaks, even if a specific ingredient within wasn't yet identified as the culprit. In this case, FSIS said the products were removed from shelves before a link could be confirmed and a recall could be initiated.
"FSIS quickly issues information to the public through recall releases and public health alerts when a product is linked to illnesses and there is actionable information for consumers. If an ongoing public health risk is identified, the agencies will take appropriate action," the statement read.
Food attorney Bill Marler, who is representing two women who say they became ill after eating the wraps in a lawsuit against Trader Joe's, told USA TODAY that he believes the FDA and USDA should have named the source publicly, even if products were pulled from shelves.
"The only thing that FSIS is hanging its hat on is that the product's off the shelf; there's no reason to tell anybody anything," he said. "But when they can identify the product or the processor or the grower, they should be open and tell the public. The public has the right to know."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trader Joe's wraps named as source of ongoing E. coli outbreak
