In r2.2-256, cactus paste can't be crafted into anything, in r2.2-259 it's craftable into 9 tallow, which is obviously not right. Crafting them into Midori blocks still works. JEI still shows the recipe like it's supposed to work.

I can't reproduce this. It's probably an issue with mappings in your pack. Unfortunately I don't have an immediate answer for how to fix it.