Wellness Drink Sparks Multistate Illness

Another popular greens powder just landed on a federal recall list, and this time the salmonella outbreak has sickened dozens of people across nearly half the country.

Quick Take

Federal health officials say Live It Up Super Greens powder sickened at least 45 people in 21 states, with 12 hospitalized.
The outbreak follows earlier recalls of Member’s Mark Super Greens sold at Sam’s Club and Food to Live green powders made by Lexunder Inc.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also confirmed a separate 2025 outbreak tied to imported moringa leaf powder from India.
Investigators used illness patterns, product tracing, and lab testing to pinpoint the contaminated supplements before ordering recalls.

A Growing List Of Contaminated Greens Powders

Federal health officials announced this month that at least 45 people across 21 states got sick from salmonella linked to Live It Up Super Greens powder, made by Superfoods Inc. Twelve of those patients needed hospital care. The CDC confirmed the case count and geographic spread in a public alert, calling it a new multistate outbreak tied to the same bacterial strain.

This is not the first greens supplement to trigger a nationwide health scare. Earlier, Member’s Mark Super Greens Powder, sold at Sam’s Club stores and online, sickened at least 11 people, including three who ended up hospitalized. Retailers pulled the product from shelves nationwide as soon as federal officials confirmed the link between the powder and the illnesses.

Moringa Leaf Powder Traced To A Single Batch

Before the Super Greens cases, the FDA and CDC spent months investigating a separate outbreak tied to moringa leaf powder, a common ingredient in green supplement blends. The agencies said in a joint update that “epidemiologic, traceback, and laboratory data showed that moringa leaf powder products were contaminated and made people sick”. That outbreak has since ended, but it showed investigators the same pattern now playing out with other brands.

The FDA traced the moringa contamination back to one specific manufacturing batch. Recalled products came from a single lot, numbered VFD/ORG/MORP/L/24, produced by Vallon Farmdirect PVT LTD in Jodhpur, India, with a best-by date of November 2027. Every bit of that lot has since been pulled from the market, according to the agency’s outbreak page.

How Investigators Find Contaminated Supplements

Food safety agencies do not wait for a smoking gun before acting. They start by comparing what sick people ate or took in the days before symptoms began. When enough patients report the same product, investigators trace it back through the supply chain and test samples for the exact bacterial strain making people ill. That process is how officials connected multiple green powder brands to salmonella this past year.

A third brand, Food to Live, joined the recall list after the FDA found salmonella in a sample of its green powder products. The company, Lexunder Inc., pulled the affected items following notification from federal regulators. Nine varieties of the brand’s green powder were included in that recall, based on reporting that tracked the company’s response.

Why Greens Powders Keep Ending Up On Recall Lists

Powdered plant products like moringa leaf and mixed greens blends are dried and shelf-stable, which makes them popular with health-conscious shoppers looking for a quick nutrient boost. But that same dry, unprocessed nature can let bacteria like salmonella survive if contamination happens anywhere from the farm to the packaging plant. Multiple brands getting hit within months of each other suggests the risk runs deeper than one bad supplier.

Consumers who bought any of these recalled greens powders should stop using them immediately and check lot numbers against the official recall notices. Salmonella infections typically cause diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps within a few days of exposure, and severe cases can require hospitalization, especially in older adults and people with weaker immune systems. Anyone experiencing these symptoms after taking a greens supplement should contact a doctor and report the product to the FDA.

This string of outbreaks is a reminder that dietary supplements do not go through the same premarket safety testing as prescription drugs. The Food and Drug Administration largely polices this industry after problems surface, relying on companies to report issues and consumers to speak up when they get sick. That reactive system caught these outbreaks, but it also means shoppers bear real risk before regulators ever step in.

Grocery and supplement shoppers would do well to keep an eye on official recall pages from the FDA and CDC rather than assume every greens powder on store shelves has been vetted for safety. With three separate brands tied to salmonella outbreaks in recent months, checking product lot numbers before your next scoop is a small habit that could prevent a serious illness.