Federal health authorities are investigating a salmonella outbreak linked to jalapenos that has sickened 345 people in 27 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Wednesday.
The jalapenos were supplied by California-based Coast Citrus Distributors and came from Mexico, according to the CDC. They were served at Chipotle, Qdoba and other restaurants.
Minnesota and Colorado account for the vast majority of cases, with 110 each. Illinois has reported 30 cases and Kansas, 13. The remaining states are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
A total of 36 people have been hospitalized, the CDC reported. No deaths have been reported.
Chipotle announced Tuesday that it had removed jalapenos from its menu “out of an abundance of caution.” This Wednesday, Qdoba stated that it had “proactively removed jalapenos from all of our restaurants.”
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The CDC noted that there is no current risk at either restaurant, as jalapeños have been removed from their menus.
Coast Citrus Distributors has agreed to issue a recall order, according to the CDC.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it began investigating “multiple ingredients” linked to the outbreak on July 22, but has not named any restaurants or suppliers.
The CDC indicated that the FDA is working to determine if the jalapeños reached grocery stores.
The FDA did not respond to requests for comment.
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Minnesota state officials indicated that most of the sick people in the state reported eating at Chipotle between June 14 and July 14. The rest of the people reported eating at other Mexican-style restaurants, said Carlota Medus, senior supervisor of epidemiology in the state Department of Health’s Foodborne Illness Unit.
Salmonella infection is a foodborne illness that is usually contracted by consuming raw or undercooked products contaminated with salmonella bacteria, according to the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms include diarrhea, stomach cramps and fever.
More than a dozen states are experiencing an increase in cases of another foodborne illness: cyclosporiasis. That outbreak has been linked to the lettuce served at Taco Bell, supplied by Taylor Farms and coming from central Mexico. There are more than 22,000 confirmed or suspected cases of the disease, and 517 people have been hospitalized because of that outbreak, according to the CDC.
Byron Chaves, a food safety expert at Rutgers University, called the two outbreaks “coincidences” and, most likely, a result of increased screening testing.
However, he noted that the CDC’s response to the salmonella outbreak was “late,” noting that Minnesota began reporting salmonella cases in early summer.
“Why is the response so poor?”asked.
