Chipotle removes jalapeños after possible link to salmonella outbreak

Health newsChipotle removes jalapeños after possible link to salmonella outbreakThe restaurant chain said it had replaced the jalapeños with product from another supplier. More than 100 cases of salmonella have been confirmed in Minnesota.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00Minnesota health officials are investigating an outbreak of salmonella linked to Mexican-style restaurants including Chipotle.David Paul Morris / Bloomberg via Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleAug. 4, 2026, 3:27 PM EDTBy Lily AlvinoChipotle said Tuesday it had removed jalapeños from its restaurants across the country after they were suspected in a salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 110 people in Minnesota.“Out of an abundance of caution, we proactively removed the jalapeños from our restaurants and replaced them with product from different growers,” Chipotle said in a statement. Jalapeños are in a number of menu items at the restaurant chain, including chili-corn salsa, pico de gallo and guacamole.Carlota Medus, a senior epidemiologist supervisor in the Minnesota Department of Health Foodborne Disease Unit, said the outbreak is linked to Mexican-style restaurants.“Jalapeños are suspected as the vehicle,” Medus said.State officials interviewed 84 of the people sickened in the outbreak; among those, 89% reported eating at Chipotle between June 14 and July 14. The remaining people reported eating at a variety of other Mexican-style restaurants.“Based on all the evidence so far, the food that made people sick was served at other restaurants as well,” Medus said. The Food and Drug Administration said in a statement that it began investigating “multiple ingredients” tied to the outbreak on July 22. Laurie Schalow, Chipotle’s chief corporate affairs and food safety officer, said: “The jalapeños in question were sent to several food service retailers across multiple states.” Neither Minnesota, Chipotle nor the FDA have named other states with suspected cases. The su...