More than 110 people in Minnesota have been sickened with salmonella in an outbreak linked to jalapeños served at Chipotle, the Mexican-style fast-food chain, according to state health officials.
Investigators interviewed 84 of the patients and found that 90 percent of them had eaten jalapeños at Chipotle or other restaurants before falling ill, leading them to suspect the peppers as the source of the infection. No details have been released on whether any patients were hospitalized.
Health officials warned that the true number of cases is likely far higher, since most people infected with salmonella are never tested.
The Food and Drug Administration opened an investigation on July 22 after the first cases were reported among people who had eaten at Chipotle and other restaurants. Chipotle began reviewing its supply chain the same day to trace the source of the contamination.
It is not yet clear whether Chipotle locations in other states have been affected. Minnesota health officials said they were in contact with counterparts in other states, and that the jalapeños linked to the illnesses were also served at restaurants beyond Chipotle.
Second outbreak tied to Taco Bell lettuce
The Chipotle cases come amid a separate, larger outbreak of cyclosporiasis in the United States linked to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms, which was sold at Taco Bell and other retailers. More than 15 states have now been tied to that outbreak, which has sickened thousands of people.
Chipotle says it acted quickly
Laurie Schalow, Chipotle's chief corporate affairs and food safety officer, told the Daily Mail: "We have a robust ingredient traceability system and, upon learning of a potential Salmonella outbreak in the supply chain impacting several food service retailers, we proactively identified jalapeños as a potential common ingredient from a common lot."
"We removed them from the restaurants where they had been distributed, and replaced them with product from different growers," she said.
Health officials weigh in
The Minnesota Department of Health said in a statement that it was no longer concerned about further infections triggered by Chipotle, since the jalapeños had been pulled from shelves, though it warned they may still be present in other restaurants.
Carlota Medus, a senior epidemiologist at the department, said: "Chipotle has fully collaborated on every aspect of this investigation; ranging from providing records and information about the foods they receive at their restaurants, as well as implementing mitigation steps right away to prevent further transmission."
"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," she said.
Medus added: "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."
How the jalapeños may have been contaminated
It remains unclear what caused the outbreak, but jalapeños can become contaminated with bacteria if they are irrigated with water contaminated by animal feces. The FDA listed the outbreak on its website on July 22.
A history of outbreaks at Chipotle
Chipotle has faced a series of severe E. coli, salmonella and norovirus outbreaks across multiple states dating back to 2015. In August 2018, 624 people fell sick with severe stomach problems after eating at a single Chipotle restaurant in Ohio, infected with Clostridium perfringens, a common cause of food poisoning in the US.
Another 200 people were sickened during a norovirus outbreak at a Chipotle in California in 2015, and 133 fell ill with the same illness at a Virginia outlet in 2017. In 2020, the company paid a $25 million fine to settle criminal charges linked to outbreaks that sickened more than 1,100 people, a case that involved food-safety failures rather than a contaminated ingredient.
What salmonella does to the body
Salmonella accounts for about one in four diarrheal diseases worldwide and is most common in poultry, red meat, dairy products, eggs, fish, fruits and vegetables. The bacterium infects 1.3 million Americans every year. Most people recover within days, though the illness is responsible for more than 26,000 hospitalizations and 400 deaths a year in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Healthy people infected with salmonella often suffer from fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain that clears within a few days, though symptoms can begin anywhere from six hours to six days after infection. In serious cases, patients can develop potentially fatal complications including sepsis, and officials warn that very young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems face the highest risk.
Unlike most bacteria, some strains of salmonella can survive stomach acid and travel into the intestines, where they burrow into the cells lining the organ, causing inflammation, diarrhea, cramps and fever. The bacteria can also enter the bloodstream and spread to other organs. People can catch it by eating contaminated food, drinking contaminated fluids, or touching the droppings of infected animals or surfaces contaminated by an infected person's feces. Patients are advised to call a doctor if diarrhea or vomiting lasts more than two days, if they notice blood in their urine or feces, or if they develop a high fever or signs of dehydration.
