Now Qdoba: Chain Joins Chipotle in Pulling Jalapeños as Salmonella Outbreak Hits 27 States

Qdoba has joined Chipotle in removing jalapeños from its restaurants as public health authorities investigate a salmonella outbreak that has spread across 27 states.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we have proactively removed jalapeños from all our restaurants at this time,” the Mexican-style food chain said in a statement on Aug. 5. “Food safety is our highest priority.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is tracking 345 cases of salmonella infection, including 36 hospitalizations, with Colorado and Minnesota accounting for more than 200 cases combined. No deaths have been reported.

Qdoba pulling jalapeños from its locations comes after Chipotle removed jalapeños from a common lot that may have been contaminated with salmonella earlier this week.

On Tuesday, public health authorities in Minnesota announced that more than 100 people had been sickened with salmonella in the state, most of them after eating Chipotle. State authorities said the outbreak may be linked to jalapeños served at Mexican-style, quick-service restaurants.

The next day, the CDC announced it was investigating a salmonella outbreak linked to jalapeños. Of the 191 people interviewed by state and local public health officials, 177 (93%) reported eating at a Mexican-style restaurant before their illness, including Chipotle and Qdoba, between June 14 and July 14, according to the CDC.

The agency stressed in its announcement on Aug. 5 that since Chipotle and Qdoba pulled jalapeño peppers from their stores, their food is now safe to eat.

According to the CDC’s epidemiologic and traceback data, jalapeño peppers from Sinaloa, Mexico, distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors may be contaminated with salmonella. The CDC said the company has agreed to recall the jalapeños. NBC News reached out to Coast Citrus Distributors and did not receive a response.

On Tuesday, Chipotle said it had removed all of the possibly contaminated jalapeños, which are from a common lot, from its stores. The company added that it has replaced them with products from other growers. The peppers were sent to several food service retailers in multiple states, said Laurie Schalow, Chipotle’s chief corporate affairs and food safety officer.

“The health and safety of our guests and employees is our highest priority. We are aware that public health authorities are investigating the source of a Salmonella outbreak in the supply chain impacting several food service retailers. We are cooperating with the public health authorities in their efforts,” Chipotle said in an Aug. 4 statement.

“As part of our established health and safety protocols, upon learning of a potential outbreak, we immediately initiated our ingredient traceability system and were able to identify jalapeños as a potential common ingredient from a common lot, and the restaurants where it was distributed,” the statement continued.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we proactively removed the jalapeños from our restaurants and replaced them with product from different growers.”

The salmonella risk comes as infections with cyclospora — what’s become known as the “explosive diarrhea” parasite — have been reported in 47 states. So far, he U.S. Food and Drug Administration and CDC have identified one possible source of cyclospora cases: shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell.

Health officials zeroed in on the fast-food chain after interviewing over 1,900 people sickened in Michigan and nearby states who reported eating at Taco Bell in June or July, the FDA said. Taco Bell has removed all affected lettuce from its supply chain. The supplier, Taylor Fresh Foods, issued a voluntary, nationwide recall of its iceberg lettuce products sourced from central Mexico.

Salmonella Symptoms

Caused by salmonella bacteria, a salmonella infection causes the typical gastrointestinal foodborne illness symptoms.

The most common salmonella symptoms include:

DiarrheaNauseaVomitingBlood in the stoolStomach crampsFeverChillsHeadache

For most people, symptoms of salmonella appear within 72 hours of eating contaminated food and resolve within a week, as TODAY.com explained previously. However, it may take 10 days for salmonella-related diarrhea to go away, and it can be months before bowel habits go back to normal.

Generally, healthy adults are able to recover from salmonella without the need for treatment. But certain vulnerable groups, including young children, older adults, pregnant people and immunocompromised people, are at a higher risk for more severe complications.