Chipotle has removed certain jalapeños from its stores as public health authorities investigate a salmonella outbreak.
So far, public health investigators in Minnesota have identified 110 cases of salmonella in the state that are part of the outbreak — which state authorities said may be linked to jalapeños served at Mexican-style, quick-service restaurants.
Among the 84 people who were interviewed in the investigation, 75 (89%) had eaten at a Chipotle between June 14 and July 14, Carlota Medus, senior epidemiologist supervisor at the Minnesota Department of Health’s foodborne diseases unit, told NBC News in a statement. Those who were sick but hadn’t eaten at a Chipotle reported eating at other Mexican-style restaurants.
Now, the Food and Drug Administration is conducting tests in the hopes of finding the ingredient responsible, and jalapeños are among the possible culprits.
Chipotle said it has 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.
“Other states are contributing to the investigation,” Medus added. And, based on all the evidence so far, “the food that made people sick was served at other restaurants as well,” Medus said.
“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.”
Right now, it’s too soon to know if the outbreak is ongoing and if other contaminated food is still being served elsewhere, Medus said. He added that the department expects case counts to increase “even if the illnesses occurred a couple of weeks ago, since it takes us a while to detect cases in surveillance.”
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.
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