If you’ve grabbed a bag of trail mix or snack mix from Walmart lately, you might want to go check your pantry right now. Several popular snack mixes sold under well-known brand names have been yanked from Walmart shelves across more than 40 states and territories. The reason? A contamination concern that traces back to a single ingredient from a dairy supplier in California. Here’s everything you need to know about which products are affected, where they were sold, and what you should do if you’ve already bought one.
What Got Recalled and Who Made It
On May 5, 2026, John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc., a major snack manufacturer headquartered in Elgin, Illinois, voluntarily recalled eight snack mix products. These weren’t obscure, hard-to-find items. They were sold under four recognizable brand names: Fisher, Southern Style Nuts, Squirrel Brand, and Good & Gather (Target’s store brand). If any of those names are familiar, keep reading.
The company issued this recall as a precautionary measure. The seasoning used on these snack mixes came from a third-party supplier, and that supplier used dry milk powder from California Dairies, Inc., a company that had already recalled its milk powder over potential Salmonella contamination. Even though Sanfilippo says the affected seasoning batches tested negative for Salmonella before being used, they pulled the products anyway because the upstream ingredient was part of a recalled supply. As of the recall announcement, no illnesses had been reported.
The Eight Products You Need to Look For
Here are the specific products covered by this recall. If you have any of these in your kitchen, don’t eat them.
1. Fisher Tex Mex Trail Mix (30 oz)
2. Southern Style Nuts Gourmet Hunter Mix (23 oz)
3. Southern Style Nuts Gourmet Hunter Mix (36 oz)
4. Southern Style Nuts Hunter Mix (30 oz)
5. Squirrel Brand Travelers Mix (16 oz)
6. Squirrel Brand Town and Country Mix (16 oz)
7. Squirrel Brand Town and Country Mix (7.5 oz)
8. Good & Gather Mexican Street Corn Trail Mix (8 oz)
Only specific Best By dates are affected, so not every single bag on every shelf is included. You’ll want to check both the brand name and the Best By date printed on your package. The full list of UPC codes and exact Best By dates can be found on the FDA’s official recall notice.
Where These Products Were Sold
This recall covers a massive geographic footprint. According to Walmart’s corporate recalls page, the affected products were sold at Walmart stores and select Sam’s Club locations across more than 40 U.S. states and territories. The full list includes Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
So basically, if you live in the United States, there’s a very good chance your local Walmart carried at least some of these products. The Fisher, Squirrel Brand, and Southern Style Nuts items were also sold through e-commerce and QVC. The Good & Gather Mexican Street Corn Trail Mix was sold exclusively at Target retail stores nationwide.
Why Target Shoppers Should Pay Attention Too
This isn’t just a Walmart story. Target’s own store brand, Good & Gather, is part of this recall. The specific product is the 8 oz Good & Gather Mexican Street Corn Trail Mix, UPC 085239270240. If you shop at Target and like to grab their store-brand snacks, this one is worth checking. A lot of people trust store brands because they assume the retailer is vetting everything carefully. That’s generally true, but in this case, the contamination started several steps back in the supply chain, with a dairy supplier whose milk powder made its way through a seasoning company and then into products sold under multiple brand names at multiple retailers.
The Mexican street corn trail mix got a lot of attention in news coverage, partly because Good & Gather is such a widely purchased brand at Target. It’s the kind of snack people toss in their cart without a second thought. And that’s exactly why this recall matters. Products like these sit in pantries for weeks or months. They’re shelf-stable, which means people stockpile them.
How a Single Ingredient Triggered This Whole Thing
The chain of events here is pretty wild when you think about it. California Dairies, Inc. recalled its dry milk powder. A third-party seasoning supplier had already used that milk powder in a seasoning blend. John B. Sanfilippo & Son had already used that seasoning blend on eight different snack mix products. Those products had already been shipped to Walmart, Target, Sam’s Club, QVC, and online retailers across the country.
One contaminated ingredient at the dairy level cascaded through the entire supply chain. This same California Dairies milk powder issue also triggered recalls for other completely unrelated products, including Blackstone Ranch Parmesan Ranch seasoning sold at Walmart, Zapp’s and Dirty Potato Chips from Utz Quality Foods, Williams Sonoma popcorn seasoning, and Ghirardelli powdered beverages. The trail mix recall is just one piece of a much larger puzzle.
What You Should Do Right Now
If you bought any of the eight products listed above, stop. Don’t eat them. Don’t finish the bag. Don’t give them to your kids or bring them to a party. Take them back to the store where you bought them, whether that’s Walmart, Target, Sam’s Club, or anywhere else, and you’ll get a full refund or replacement. No receipt drama, no hassle.
Check your pantry, your snack drawer, your car (we all have snacks stashed in the center console, don’t pretend you don’t), and your desk at work. These are the kinds of snacks that end up in a dozen different places around your house and might still be there long after you forgot you bought them.
If you have questions or concerns, you can contact John B. Sanfilippo & Son’s customer service line toll-free at (800) 874-8734. They’re available Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Central Time.
Watch Out for Recall Scams
Here’s something a lot of people don’t realize. Walmart has specifically warned that it does not send text messages about product recalls. If you get a random text claiming to be from Walmart about a recall, it’s a scam. Period. Walmart communicates recall information through its official website and direct email notifications. That’s it. So if someone texts you saying “Your recent Walmart purchase has been recalled, click here,” don’t click anything. Delete it.
Scammers love piggybacking on real recall news to phish for personal information. They know people are worried and acting fast, which makes them more likely to click a sketchy link without thinking twice.
How to Verify If Your Specific Bag Is Affected
Not every bag of Fisher trail mix or Southern Style Nuts on the shelf is part of this recall. Only products with specific Best By dates and UPC codes are included. To figure out if your bag is one of them, you need to match three things: the brand name, the product name and size, and the Best By date printed on the package. If all three match what’s listed in the official FDA recall notice, return it. If even one detail doesn’t match, your product is not part of this recall.
The FDA’s recall page has the complete product table with every UPC code and every affected Best By date. It takes about two minutes to check. That’s worth your time.
Why This Recall Is Easy to Miss
Trail mix and snack mixes are the kind of thing you buy and forget about. They sit in the back of a cabinet for months. You bring them on road trips, stash them in a lunchbox, or pour some into a bowl at a get-together and then put the bag back. Unlike fresh meat or dairy that you use within a few days, shelf-stable snacks hang around. That’s exactly why recalls like this are easy to miss. By the time the news breaks, you’ve already forgotten you bought the bag three weeks ago.
State and local public health departments across the country are actively pushing this information out to make sure it reaches as many people as possible. But the reality is that most consumers never hear about food recalls unless they stumble across the news or someone tells them directly. So if you know someone who shops at Walmart or Target and grabs trail mix regularly, send them this article. It might save them from eating something they shouldn’t.
The Quick Version
Eight snack mix products from Fisher, Southern Style Nuts, Squirrel Brand, and Good & Gather have been recalled. They were sold at Walmart, Sam’s Club, Target, QVC, and online. The recall covers more than 40 states and territories. No one has gotten sick yet, and this is a precautionary move. If you have any of these products, don’t eat them. Return them for a full refund. Call (800) 874-8734 with questions. And ignore any text messages claiming to be recall alerts from Walmart, because those are fake.
