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Chipotle Mexican Grill has removed jalapeños from its restaurants nationwide after the peppers were linked to a salmonella outbreak in Minnesota that has sickened more than 100 people.
The move was first reported by Bloomberg, which said the chain was working with the Minnesota health department on tracking an outbreak of the foodborne illness. In a statement released Aug. 4, Chipotle confirmed it was cooperating with the public health investigation and had identified jalapeños from one common lot as a potential source of contamination.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we proactively removed the jalapeños from our restaurants and replaced them with product from different growers,” it said. Chipotle did not specify which grower had provided the removed peppers.
Carlota Medus, senior epidemiologist supervisor in the Minnesota Department of Health Foodborne Diseases Unit, told USA TODAY in a statement Aug. 4 that 110 Salmonella Javiana cases linked to the outbreak have been identified in the state and 89% of people interviewed reported eating at Chipotle before getting sick.
Chipotle likely not the only restaurant impacted
While it was the first restaurant to be named, investigators believe the spread has impacted other eateries and possibly other states, as well. In its statement, Chipotle said that the outbreak was “impacting several food service retailers,” while Medus said it was associated with “Mexican-style quick-service restaurants.”
“The cases that reported not eating at Chipotle ate at a variety of other Mexican-style restaurants,” she said. “Other states are contributing to the investigation. Based on all the evidence so far, the food that made people sick was served at other restaurants as well.”
Though Chipotle said a specific lot number had been identified, the FDA has yet to release a recall or public alert concerning the outbreak. The agency did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment Aug. 4, but Medus said it is performing traceback investigations that include, but are not limited to, jalapeños.
FDA yet to confirm extent of the outbreak
The FDA’s CORE database, which tracks ongoing clusters of foodborne illness, has had an outbreak of SalmonellaJaviana listed since July 22. As of Aug. 4, it was categorized as “active,” with a case count of 212. The entry does not provide any further information and the FDA did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request to confirm if the outbreaks are the same.
An FDA spokesperson told Bloomberg that Chipotle started reviewing its products after that same investigation began July 22, but did not provide further information on other potentially affected states or eateries.
“It is too soon for us to know if the outbreak is ongoing,” said Medus. “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. 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.”
Chipotle’s past outbursts
The outbreak comes as the U.S. food supply chain has already been rocked by an unprecedented outbreak of cyclosporiasis, a parasitic infection spread through contaminated food and water.
The latest CDC update on July 28 pinpointed 6,707 laboratory confirmed cases of the illness across 45 states since May 1, with thousands of other suspected cases not yet confirmed by laboratories. Michigan, the hardest hit state with cases tied back to lettuce grown by Taylor Farms in Mexico, reported the first deaths in the still-expanding cluster of illnesses on Aug 3. Federal health authorities are also attempting to trace several smaller case clusters that don’t yet have an identified cause.
While Chipotle has not been implicated in the cyclospra outbreak and is likely not the only chain impacted by the salmonella cases, it is no stranger to making headlines. In the last decade, it was named in several outbreaks of salmonella, norovirus and E. coli, eventually leading to criminal charges under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
In 2020, the chain agreed to pay a $25 million in fines after the Department of Justice investigated five outbreaks that sickened more than 1,000 people. In the process, Chipotle admitted that its food safety practices, as opposed to the raw ingredients, had caused the illnesses.
Chipotle has since put in place new protocols as part of the agreement and replaced its chief executive officer.