Salmonella Outbreak Sickens Over 100 in Minnesota, Chipotle Under Scrutiny
Health officials suspect jalapeños from the restaurant chain as the source, triggering an FDA investigation and a significant drop in company shares.
Image: Eddie Pollard / AI
Callum Smith
More than 100 people in Minnesota have been sickened with salmonella.
Chipotle pulled jalapeños as a precaution, replacing them with produce from different growers. The company did not specify the number of impacted restaurants or the origin of the previous peppers.
Despite these swift actions, shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill plunged more than 9 percent in afternoon trading. Health officials claim the true toll of the salmonella outbreak is likely far higher than reported, as most infected individuals are never tested.
Carlota Medus stated the case count is expected to increase, even for illnesses that occurred a couple of weeks ago. The salmonella outbreak could be ongoing if the contaminated food item is being served elsewhere, Medus further claimed.
Medus asserted, "Based on all the evidence so far, the food that made people sick was served at other restaurants as well." Public health investigators in Minnesota identified 110 salmonella cases in the state as part of the outbreak.
Minnesota's Health Department confirmed other states are contributing to the ongoing investigation. This incident follows a separate cyclosporiasis outbreak, which an FDA investigation linked to iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms in Mexico.