Trader Joe's wraps named as source of ongoing E. coli outbreak

Federal health officials have identified chicken wraps sold by Trader Joe's as the cause of an ongoing E. coli outbreak that has affected at least 50 individuals. The confirmation came from the Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) in an email to USA TODAY on Friday, October 23, following a report about a lawsuit and investigations tied to the outbreak. The lawsuit, along with state investigation documents reviewed by USA TODAY, specified that the affected product is Trader Joe's Tarragon Chicken Salad Wraps.

Trader Joe's acknowledged in an email sent to USA TODAY on October 20 that it had removed the Tarragon Chicken Salad Wraps from stores in nine states after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerted the chain in September regarding a potential issue with the product. "The E. coli O157:H7 outbreak investigation (2026-04) identified ready-to-eat, multi-ingredient chicken wraps from certain Trader Joe’s locations as a common exposure among those who fell ill," stated FSIS. The agency noted that the wraps were proactively taken off the market by Trader Joe's before a definitive link to the outbreak was established.

Previously, both the FDA and USDA had only referred to the source of the outbreak as an unidentified "Ready-To-Eat Multi-ingredient wrap with chicken." As of October 23, the public records maintained by the FDA and FSIS still listed the wraps without any specific identification.

The USDA is continuing its investigation in collaboration with other agencies to determine the specific ingredient responsible for the outbreak. According to their findings, "extensive product testing" has shown negative results for the implicated wraps. The USDA indicated that it is unlikely the chicken itself is the source, as chicken is rarely associated with the outbreak strain of E. coli known as E. coli O157:H7, or Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), which can lead to severe health issues, including hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Historically, health agencies like the FDA and USDA have named multi-ingredient products during outbreak investigations, even when a specific ingredient has not yet been identified. In this instance, FSIS explained that the products were pulled from shelves prior to establishing a direct link to the outbreak and initiating a formal recall.

"FSIS promptly issues public information through recall announcements and health alerts when a product is associated with illnesses and actionable information is available for consumers," the statement read. "If a public health risk is identified, the agencies will take necessary actions."

Food safety attorney Bill Marler, representing two women who claim to have fallen ill after consuming the wraps in a lawsuit against Trader Joe's, expressed his belief that the FDA and USDA should have publicly identified the source of the outbreak, even though the products were removed from shelves. "The only thing that FSIS is relying on is that the product's off the shelf; there's no reason to tell anybody anything," Marler said. "But when they can identify the product or the processor or the grower, they should be transparent and inform the public. The public has the right to know."