Jalapeño peppers behind a multistate salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 345 people across 27 U.S. states have been traced to a grower in Sinaloa, Mexico, federal health officials confirmed.
No deaths have been reported, but 36 people have been hospitalized. The largest concentrations of illness have been recorded in Minnesota and Colorado, with cases spanning a wide geographic area.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the peppers were imported into the United States by Coast Citrus Distributors, which has since recalled the product and begun notifying customers. Those customers include several prominent Mexican-style restaurant chains.
Investigators found a strong link between the outbreak and dining out. Of 191 people interviewed, 177 — or 93% — reported eating at a Mexican-style restaurant between June 14 and July 14, including Chipotle Mexican Grill and Qdoba.
Both chains moved quickly to withdraw the ingredient. Chipotle removed jalapeños from some of its restaurants earlier this week, a step detailed when the company first pulled the peppers as the investigation widened, while Qdoba proactively removed them from all of its locations.
“Given their actions to remove product from their stores, neither of these establishments are considered a current ongoing risk to consumers in this outbreak,” CDC officials said in a statement.
The Food and Drug Administration is now investigating whether any of the recalled jalapeños reached grocery stores, and has indicated that additional recall actions may follow. The agency said any further measures would be posted to its recalls webpage.
Salmonella bacteria cause an estimated 1.35 million infections in the United States each year. Symptoms typically include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps, and most people recover without treatment within a week.
The scare has weighed modestly on Chipotle’s share price, which extended declines this week. Analysts, however, played down the long-term risk. “History has repeatedly shown that the sales impact of foodborne illness tends to be fleeting for restaurants,” one analyst noted, pointing to past recoveries in the sector.
Coast Citrus Distributors did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Officials said the outbreak investigation remains active as authorities work to determine the full distribution path of the contaminated peppers and whether the case count will rise as further reports are logged.