The Whole Foods ashwagandha recall announced through the Food and Drug Administration on 30 October affects one lot of a supplement that sat on shelves for eleven months. Vitality Works Inc., based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is pulling 365 Whole Foods Market Standardized plus Full Spectrum Blend Ashwagandha Capsules in the 120-count bottle over possible salmonella contamination.
Nobody has reported an illness. The company found the problem itself, through routine sampling of a single retail unit, which is the best case a recall of this type can have.
Identifying a recalled bottle
Because only one lot is covered, the numbers on the bottle decide the question rather than the product name on the front.
| What to check | The recalled value | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Lot number | 2025-26227 | Printed on the bottle |
| Expiration date | 10/13/2028 | Printed on the bottom |
| UPC | 9948252099 | On the label barcode |
| Size | 120 capsules, white plastic bottle | Front of pack |
Sales ran from 24 November 2025 to 20 October 2026 through Amazon and Whole Foods Market stores. The firm revised its announcement on 30 October to describe distribution as nationwide rather than restricted to particular states, so where the bottle was bought does not rule it out.
The sequence says something about how this was caught. The product came off sale on 20 October and the notice appeared ten days afterwards, a pattern consistent with a laboratory result rather than with illness reports working their way back to a source. Recalls that begin with sick customers usually run the other way round.
What the recall asks customers to do
Stop taking the capsules. Vitality Works asks people to discard the bottle instead of returning it, and Whole Foods Market is refunding at any store without the product in hand. The company line is 505-268-9950, open 8am to 5pm Mountain Time on weekdays.
The health warning is the standard one for salmonella and worth reading rather than skimming. The published notice says infections can be serious and occasionally fatal in young children, frail or elderly people, and anyone whose immune system is compromised. Healthy adults more often see fever, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
Ashwagandha itself is a botanical supplement, and this bottle is sold for a healthy stress response in a 120-capsule vegan format. Products built from dried plant material are routinely screened for salmonella because the starting ingredient is grown rather than manufactured, which is exactly the check that flagged this lot.
Consumer rights when a product is pulled
A no-questions refund is the normal end point, and this recall is set up to work that way. When a seller does not play along, the general consumer routes apply, and our explainers on small claims court and on lemon law describe how those claims are actually run.
The limits of this recall
One lot is affected, not the whole product line. A bottle that does not carry lot 2025-26227 and the 10/13/2028 expiration date is outside this action, and other ashwagandha products under the same brand are not involved. The three identifiers settle it in seconds, which is why they are worth checking before throwing anything out.
No illnesses had been reported when the notice went up, and that distinction matters. This is a precaution triggered by a laboratory result, not a response to people getting sick. Refunds are being handled at any Whole Foods Market store without the product in hand, because the instruction is to discard the bottle rather than return it.
