Qdoba Pulls Jalapenos as US Officials Probe Salmonella Outbreak

Qdoba Restaurant Corp. pulled jalapeños from its more than 800 locations and said it’s cooperating with US authorities investigating a salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds of people across the country.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we have proactively removed jalapeños from all our restaurants at this time,” closely held Qdoba said in a statement to Bloomberg News. The company, backed by private equity firm Butterfly, said it’s “committed to responding appropriately based on the facts and guidance from public health authorities.”

The Mexican restaurant chain didn’t disclose when it had removed the ingredient or which states are investigating. Bloomberg News reported Tuesday that Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. removed jalapeños from multiple stores in Minnesota after learning the peppers may be linked to salmonella. The company replaced the jalapeños with product from different growers.

The salmonella javiana outbreak has sickened more than 300 people, according to the US Food and Drug Administration, which began investigating multiple ingredients on July 22. Minnesota and Colorado have each reported 110 cases. No supplier has been publicly identified.

Chipotle’s ingredient traceability system identified jalapeños from a common lot as a potential link, the company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. The company is also cooperating with public health authorities.

Minnesota officials aren’t worried about Chipotle since it pulled the peppers but said other chains may still have an issue.

“Based on all the evidence so far, the food that made people sick was served at other restaurants as well,” Carlota Medus, senior epidemiologist supervisor in the Minnesota Department of Health Foodborne Diseases Unit, said in a statement Tuesday.

An estimated 1.35 million salmonella infections occur in the US each year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bacteria are among the leading causes of foodborne illness, and severe cases can result in hospitalization and death.

This salmonella outbreak is the latest foodborne illness to beset restaurants. An unusually large cluster of cyclospora parasite cases has sickened thousands of people across 47 states, according to the CDC. Michigan has reported more than 12,000 illnesses and two deaths. The largest outbreak was linked to lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms to companies such as Taco Bell. Federal authorities are investigating clusters tied to other sources.

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