John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. is recalling several snack mixes sold under its Fisher, Squirrel Brand and Southern Style Nuts labels after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday the products may be linked to a seasoning ingredient that could contain contaminated dry milk powder.
The recalled items include Tex Mex Trail Mix, Gourmet Hunter Mix, Hunter Mix, Travelers Mix and Town & Country Mix, along with a Good & Gather Mexican Street Corn Trail Mix sold by Target. Best-by dates on the affected products extend into 2027, and consumers are urged not to eat them and instead return them to the place of purchase for a refund or replacement.
The recall centers on a third-party seasoning ingredient that had previously been recalled by California Dairies, Inc. before it was used in the snack mixes. The FDA said the affected seasoning batches tested negative for salmonella before use, but the company is acting out of caution because of the possibility that the finished products may contain Salmonella.
That warning matters because salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Symptoms typically include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, and in rare cases the infection can spread to the bloodstream and lead to more severe complications.
The recall covers multiple snack mix varieties under several labels, including one sold by Target, showing how far a problem in a single ingredient can travel once it enters a finished food product. The contamination concern traces back to a seasoning ingredient that may have been exposed to contaminated dry milk powder, and the recall is the company’s precautionary move while the products are pulled from shelves.
The question now is not whether shoppers should keep eating the mixes — they should not — but how many bags with 2027 best-by dates have already made it home before the recall reached consumers.
