Chipotle pulls jalapeños as salmonella outbreak sickens over 100

Key Points:

• Chipotle Mexican Grill has removed jalapeños from all its U.S. restaurants after these peppers were linked to a Salmonella Javiana outbreak in Minnesota, which has sickened over 100 people, with 89% of those affected having eaten at Chipotle.
• The outbreak is believed to affect other Mexican-style quick-service restaurants and multiple states, as cases have been reported among people who did not eat at Chipotle, though the FDA has not yet issued a recall or public alert.
• The FDA is actively investigating the outbreak, which currently has 212 confirmed cases, but has not confirmed the full extent or source of contamination beyond identifying a common lot of jalapeños.
• This incident adds to recent food safety challenges in the U.S., including a large cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to contaminated lettuce, while Chipotle has a history of foodborne illness outbreaks and paid $25 million in fines in 2020 after admitting food safety practice failures.
• Since the 2020 incidents, Chipotle has implemented new food safety protocols and changed its CEO to improve its handling of food safety risks.