Whole Foods’ 365 ashwagandha capsules are recalled nationwide over possible Salmonella

Vitality Works Inc. of Albuquerque, New Mexico, has recalled one lot of its 365 Whole Foods Market Standardized + Full Spectrum Blend Ashwagandha Capsules after routine sampling of a single retail unit pointed to possible Salmonella contamination. The notice was posted on October 30, 2026. No illnesses had been reported when it went up.

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The recall followed routine sampling rather than a consumer complaint, according to the company, and the single positive result involved one retail unit. The firm has not said how many bottles of the lot were produced. Bottles hold 120 capsules, carry lot number 2025-26227 and show an expiration date of 10/13/2028 printed on the bottom. They were sold from November 24, 2025, through October 20, 2026.

In its notice posted by the Food and Drug Administration, the company said it updated the announcement on October 30 to describe nationwide distribution rather than a handful of states. The capsules came in white plastic bottles with UPC 9948252099, and they were sold both through Amazon.com and on shelves at Whole Foods Market stores across the country. Anyone who bought a bottle in that nearly eleven-month window should read the bottom label before taking another dose.

Lot 2025-26227 and the shift to nationwide distribution

The recall is narrow in product terms and wide in geography. Only one lot is named, but the earlier version of the firm’s announcement limited sale to select states, and the October 30 revision widened it to every Whole Foods Market location plus the online listing on Amazon. News coverage syndicated by Scripps News still lists 30 states and the District of Columbia, from Arkansas and Arizona through Wyoming, which matches the narrower first wording; the FDA-posted notice is the version that says nationwide.

Vitality Works said customers holding the recalled product should not consume it, and the notice tells buyers to discard it rather than carry it back to a store. Refunds are available at any Whole Foods Market. People with questions can call the firm at (505) 268-9950 on weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time, or the FDA consumer line at 1-888-INFO-FDA. The notice does not say how Amazon buyers should claim a refund, so those customers would need to contact the firm directly.

Salmonella symptoms and who faces the worst outcomes

The company’s notice says Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy people usually get fever, diarrhea that may be bloody, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare cases the bacteria reach the bloodstream and cause infected aneurysms, endocarditis or arthritis.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says symptoms usually start 6 hours to 6 days after infection and last 4 to 7 days. It advises seeing a doctor for diarrhea or vomiting that lasts more than two days, bloody stool, a fever above 102 degrees Fahrenheit, or signs of dehydration, which can develop quickly in small children.

The same agency’s overview of Salmonella infection lists children younger than 5, adults 65 and older, people 50 and older with underlying conditions such as heart disease, and anyone with a weakened immune system as the groups more likely to become seriously ill.

The notice is explicit that no illness has been tied to the capsules. That shapes how the recall should be read: it is a precaution built on a laboratory result from one unit pulled during routine sampling, not a response to a cluster of sick customers. People who took capsules from the lot and feel well need no step beyond stopping use and discarding the bottle, while anyone with the symptoms above after taking them should tell a doctor which product and lot they used.

Ashwagandha capsules in a lightly verified market

Ashwagandha is the common name for Withania somnifera, an evergreen shrub long used in Ayurvedic medicine. The National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements fact sheet on ashwagandha notes that products are standardized in different ways, often by withanolide content, and that most commercial supplements use root extract while some blend root and leaf. The recalled bottles are labeled “Standardized + Full Spectrum Blend,” so shoppers should match the lot code rather than the product family.

The same fact sheet says ashwagandha appears well tolerated for up to about three months, with mild stomach upset, loose stools, nausea and drowsiness listed as common side effects, and it describes reports of liver injury. Several of those side effects overlap with early Salmonella symptoms, so a lot code is useful to a clinician trying to sort out the cause. Long-term safety over months to years is listed as unknown.

What the recall does not settle is how widespread the contamination is. The firm’s notice says one retail unit tested positive on routine sampling, and it does not describe how many bottles belong to lot 2025-26227 or how many reached buyers. Until Vitality Works or the FDA publishes a count of units sold, or reports a confirmed illness, the only firm number shoppers have is the lot code on the bottom of the bottle.

This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.

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