Organic jalapeño peppers, at the Farmers Market, Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by: Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
More than 300 people have gotten sick as a result of a Salmonella outbreak that has spread to over two dozen states and ensnared two popular restaurant chains, the Food and Drug Administration reported.
Big picture view:
In a statement Wednesday, health officials warned people not to eat, serve, or sell the now-recalled fresh jalapeños from Sinaloa, Mexico that were distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors to wholesalers and restaurants nationwide.
By the numbers:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 345 people have been infected across 27 states, with the bulk of the cases affecting Colorado and Minnesota, between the dates of June 19 and July 20. Thirty-six people have been hospitalized as a result of the outbreak. No deaths have been reported.
How Chipotle & Qdoba reacted
Health officials spoke with 191 people who contracted Salmonella, and 177 of them (93%) had eaten at a Mexican-style restaurant sometime between June 14 and July 14 before getting sick, the FDA explained, noting that both Chipotle and Qdoba were among the locations mentioned.
The FDA assured Chipotle and Qdoba customers that health officials do not consider eating at either chain to be a risk. The agency explained that Chipotle switched suppliers for its jalapeños on July 20, more than two weeks ago. Qdoba, meanwhile, pulled the peppers on July 28 and is not serving jalapeños at all right now.
What's next:
The FDA investigation traced the Salmonella outbreak to the jalapeños that Coast Citrus Distributors imported from Sinaloa, Mexico. The FDA recommended, and Coast Citrus agreed, to recall the peppers. The company is now trying to identify and contact all customers who may have bought them.
Distributors, restaurants, and food service companies that did receive the recalled jalapeños need to clean and sanitize any surface or container that the product touched, the FDA says. If it is not known where the peppers were sourced, the agency advises contacting the supplier to find out if they came from Sinaloa and were distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors.
What you can do:
The FDA is advising that anyone who gets ill after eating at a Mexican-style restaurant should seek medical care.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from the FDA. This story was reported from Orlando.