State health officials are giving an update on a salmonella outbreak linked to jalapenos served at Mexican-style quick-service restaurants.
The Minnesota Department of Health says out of 84 cases they interviewed, 75 reported eating at Chipotle sometime between June 14th and July 14th. The others that reported not eating at Chipotle said they ate at a variety of other Mexican-style restaurants.
State health officials add that it's too soon to know if the outbreak is ongoing. Carlota Medus, Senior Epidemiologist Supervisor in the Minnesota Department of Health Foodborne Diseases Unit provided the following statement to WCCO Radio:
"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, including removing the suspected jalapeños from all the restaurants that received that product."
Given the measures Chipotle put in place, they say they are not concerned about Chipotle, but it is possible that the outbreak is ongoing if the contaminated food item is being served elsewhere.
The case count is expected to increase as other states contribute to the investigation.
"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," continues the statement from Medus. "Our investigations often start with speaking to persons diagnosed with a foodborne illness that were reported to the health department as part of our surveillance. We’d like to ask the public to please answer our calls. The information they provide is critical to solving outbreaks quickly."
Chipotle says it's removing jalapenos from multiple Minnesota stores and replacing them with product from different growers.
