Chipotle said Aug. 4 that it removed jalapeños that could be a source in a salmonella outbreak from some of its restaurants.
Chipotle said in a statement that it’s aware public health officials are investigating the source of an outbreak of salmonella impacting retailers in Minnesota.
“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 California-based company said. “Out of an abundance of caution, we proactively removed the jalapeños from our restaurants and replaced them with product from different growers.”
Chipotle also said, “The health and safety of our guests and employees is our highest priority.”
The Minnesota Department of Health said it had identified 110 salmonella outbreak-related cases in the state. Among 84 people interviewed, 75 reported eating at Chipotle between June 14 and July 14, the agency said.
Health officials said the evidence gathered so far suggests the contaminated food item was also served at other Mexican-style restaurants, and the Food and Drug Administration is leading a traceback investigation to identify the source.
State officials said they were not concerned about the ongoing exposure at Chipotle but cautioned the outbreak could continue if the contaminated ingredient was supplied to other restaurants.
"We do expect the case count to increase even if the illnesses occurred a couple of weeks ago, since it takes us a while to detect cases in surveillance," said Carlota Medus, senior epidemiologist supervisor in the Minnesota Department of Health Foodborne Diseases Unit.
Salmonella are bacteria that can contaminate food that is not handled safely. Some 1.3 million infections are caused by salmonella each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates.
Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, fever, cramps, and vomiting. Symptoms typically start six hours to six days following infection, and last for four to seven days.
People with salmonella can talk to their healthcare provider about treatment. Drinking lots of fluids is usually part of responding to salmonella.
People can avoid salmonella by washing hands after touching raw meat or animals, boiling water when in certain countries, and safely storing food. When dining out, food safety tips from the CDC include asking for certain foods such as poultry to be cooked well done and only eating hot foods if served hot and cold foods served cold.