Chipotle removed jalapeños that could be the source of a salmonella outbreak at some of its restaurants, the company said on Aug. 4, after Minnesota officials found that dozens of people who contracted salmonella had recently eaten at the chain.
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 and other states.
“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 is investigating the outbreak and has identified 110 cases so far, a spokesperson for the agency told The Epoch Times in an email. Investigators talked to 84 people who became sick. Of those, 75 said they had recently eaten at Chipotle. The others had eaten at other Mexican-style restaurants.
The Food and Drug Administration is conducting its own probe, tracing what items could be making people sick, Minnesota officials said.
“It is too soon for us to know if the outbreak is ongoing. Given the measures Chipotle put in place, we are not concerned about Chipotle; but it is possible that the outbreak is ongoing if the contaminated food item is being served elsewhere,” Carlota Medus, a senior epidemiologist at the Minnesota Department of Health, told The Epoch Times via email. “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.”
He said such investigations rely on speaking to people already diagnosed with a foodborne illness. He asked members of the public to please answer any calls from Minnesota’s health officials.
“The information they provide is critical to solving outbreaks quickly,” he said.
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.
