A nationwide outbreak of Salmonella has been linked to dietary supplements containing moringa leaf powder, prompting a federal investigation and a large-scale recall of products sold at Sam’s Club. The investigation, led by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has identified a single lot of organic moringa leaf powder imported from India as the source of the contamination.
The outbreak has resulted in 11 reported illnesses across seven states, leading to three hospitalizations. While the affected product has been pulled from store shelves, health officials are concerned that consumers may still have the contaminated supplements in their homes. The CDC and FDA are urging anyone who purchased Member’s Mark Super Greens Powder to discard it immediately, regardless of the “best by” date printed on the container.
This incident highlights the complex, global journey of food ingredients and the sophisticated scientific detective work that unfolds when a public health threat emerges. It also serves as a reminder that products marketed for wellness, including raw agricultural powders consumed without a cooking step, can still carry foodborne pathogens.
Outbreak Beginnings
The first public signs of the outbreak appeared on October 31, 2025, when federal health officials announced they were investigating a cluster of Salmonella Richmond infections spanning multiple states. However, the earliest case had begun months earlier, with the first person falling ill on May 12, 2025. The most recent reported illness started on September 4, indicating the outbreak unfolded over a nearly four-month period before the connection was confirmed.
As of the latest update, 11 people from seven states have been confirmed to be part of the outbreak. The affected states are Florida, Kansas, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Of the 11 individuals, three became so ill they required hospitalization. No deaths have been reported in connection with this outbreak.
Public health officials note that the official case count is almost certainly an undercount of the true number of people affected. Many individuals who contract Salmonella recover without seeking medical attention and are never tested for the bacteria. Furthermore, it can take three to four weeks from the time a person gets sick to when their case is confirmed and linked to an outbreak, meaning more recent illnesses may not yet be part of the tally.
Demographic information gathered by the CDC paints a picture of who was affected. The ages of the sick individuals ranged from 13 to 65 years, with a median age of 52. A significant majority, 73%, were female. All ten people for whom ethnicity information was available identified as non-Hispanic.
Outbreak Investigation
Solving a multistate foodborne illness outbreak requires piecing together multiple types of evidence. In this case, the investigation relied on a three-part process: interviewing sick people, tracing the food they ate back through the supply chain, and performing advanced laboratory testing on the suspect products.
The first critical clues came from detailed interviews conducted by state and local health departments. Officials asked the ill people about the foods, supplements, and beverages they had consumed in the week before they got sick. The results were striking. Of the 10 people interviewed, 9 (90%) reported consuming powdered dietary supplements. Six of those individuals specifically reported consuming Member’s Mark Super Greens Powder. Three other people reported consuming different products that also contained moringa leaf powder. This created a powerful statistical signal pointing directly to supplements containing moringa.
While these interviews were underway, the FDA launched a traceback investigation. This process involves collecting purchase records and shipping documents to follow the path of a food product backward from the store where it was sold to its original source. For this outbreak, traceback records for organic moringa leaf powder from all eight points of sale converged at a single U.S. importer. That importer had sourced the moringa from a specific supplier: Vallon Farm Direct PVT LTD, located in Jodhpur, India. The investigation zeroed in on a single lot of the ingredient: organic moringa leaf powder with lot code VFD/ORG/MORP/L/24 and a “best by” date of November 2027. This single lot was able to explain all of the illnesses included in the traceback.
Laboratory Evidence from Patients’ Homes
While the epidemiological and traceback evidence was compelling, the conclusive proof came from laboratory analysis after state health officials collected open containers of the suspect products directly from the homes of people who had fallen ill.
In Virginia, the state health department collected a sample of pure moringa leaf powder from a sick person’s residence. Laboratory tests confirmed the sample was positive for Salmonella. At nearly the same time, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development collected an open container of Member’s Mark Super Greens dietary supplement powder from another ill person’s home. Analysis by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services also found Salmonella in this product.
The final, definitive link was established using a powerful laboratory technique called Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS). This method creates a detailed DNA fingerprint of a bacterial strain. The WGS analysis showed that the Salmonella bacteria found in the moringa powder and the Super Greens supplement were a perfect genetic match to the Salmonella Richmond strain isolated from the sick people across the country. This genetic match confirmed that the contaminated moringa leaf powder was the outbreak’s source.
Table: Salmonella Richmond Outbreak at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
| Product Recalled | Member’s Mark Super Greens dietary supplement powder |
| Contaminated Ingredient | Organic moringa leaf powder, Lot VFD/ORG/MORP/L/24 (BBD Nov 2027) |
| Source of Ingredient | Vallon Farm Direct PVT LTD, Jodhpur, India |
| Total Illnesses | 11 people across 7 states |
| Hospitalizations | 3 people |
| Case Demographics | Median age 52, 73% female, illnesses from May 12 – Sep 4, 2025 |
| Investigation Status | Ongoing: more products may be recalled |
Public Health Response and Consumer Advice
In response to the mounting evidence, a series of public health actions have been taken. Sam’s Club, the exclusive retailer of the implicated supplement, ceased all distribution and sales of Member’s Mark Super Greens Powder. The company has also initiated a direct notification campaign to contact customers who had purchased the product to inform them of the recall.
The recall itself is comprehensive. Consumers are advised not to eat, sell, or serve any Member’s Mark Super Greens dietary supplement powder, regardless of the lot code or “best by” date printed on the container. The products should be thrown away or returned to a Sam’s Club for a refund.
Because dry powders can easily dust surfaces and lead to cross-contamination, health officials are also advising careful cleaning. Anyone who handled the product should wash and sanitize any surfaces, containers, or utensils that may have come into contact with the powder, using hot soapy water or a dishwasher.
For distributors and retailers, the FDA has issued a specific instruction: they should not use, sell, or distribute any moringa leaf powder from the implicated lot (VFD/ORG/MORP/L/24 with a “best by” date of November 2027) that was manufactured by Vallon Farm Direct.
Understanding the Risks: Salmonella and Moringa
For consumers, the outbreak raises questions about both the pathogen and the product involved.
Salmonella is a common bacterium that causes an estimated 1.35 million illnesses in the United States each year. Infection with Salmonella, called salmonellosis, typically causes symptoms within 12 to 72 hours after eating contaminated food. These symptoms include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps, and usually last for four to seven days. While most healthy people recover without treatment, the illness can be severe enough to require hospitalization. The infection can spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and other parts of the body, posing a serious threat to certain vulnerable groups. Children younger than five, adults 65 years and older, and people with weakened immune systems are most likely to experience severe illness.
The vehicle for this outbreak, moringa leaf powder, is derived from the leaves of the Moringa oleifera tree, a plant native to India and other parts of the world. The leaves are dried and powdered, and the resulting product is marketed as a “superfood” or “supergreens” supplement, prized for its concentrated nutrients, including protein, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. A crucial aspect of this story is that ingredients like moringa leaf powder are “raw.” They are often not treated with a processing step, such as heating, that could kill pathogenic bacteria before they are packaged and sold to consumers. This means that any contamination present at the source can survive all the way to the consumer’s home.
Analysis and Next Steps
This ongoing investigation reveals a new dimension of an old problem, demonstrating how the pursuit of wellness through supplements can carry unforeseen risks when safety standards fail to keep pace with globalized production. What makes this outbreak particularly instructive is the convergence of multiple data types – epidemiological, traceback, and laboratory – to pinpoint a single lot of a single ingredient from a specific overseas supplier. This level of precision, while powerful for containing an outbreak, also highlights the dizzying complexity of the modern food supply, where a problem at one facility in India can swiftly become a public health issue in seven American states.
According to Ron Simon of nationwide Salmonella law firm Ron Simon & Associates, “The implications of this failure in the supply chain matter for a wide range of stakeholders. The most immediate impact is, of course, on the victimes who fell ill, facing not only the physical ordeal of a Salmonella infection but also the potential for long-term health complications like post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome.”
The burden also falls heavily on the businesses involved, from the major retailer managing a nationwide recall and reputational damage to the distributors caught in the middle. More broadly, the outbreak erodes the trust of all consumers, particularly those who rely on dietary supplements for their nutritional needs and are now left to wonder about the safety of products that are inherently unverifiable to the naked eye.
Moving forward, several paths are critical. For consumers who may still have the product in their homes, the directive is simple but non-negotiable: immediately discard or return any Member’s Mark Super Greens Powder and thoroughly clean any surfaces it may have contacted. For the regulatory and public health community, the unfinished work includes determining the precise point of contamination in India – whether at the farm, during processing, or in packaging – and identifying any other products that may have used the same contaminated lot of moringa. For the broader industry, this outbreak must serve as a catalyst to re-examine and strengthen safety protocols for raw, imported ingredients, particularly those consumed without a cooking step. Until such controls are universally implemented, the risk of history repeating itself remains, leaving the safety of the wellness aisle contingent on the integrity of a supply chain that spans the globe.
