Chipotle pulls jalapeños that may be tied to salmonella outbreak

Chipotle is removing jalapeños from some restaurants after identifying the peppers as a potential source of a salmonella outbreak.

The company released a statement Tuesday saying it is replacing the potentially compromised peppers with supplies from a different grower.

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“The health and safety of our guests and employees is our highest priority. We are aware that public health authorities are investigating the source of a salmonella outbreak in the supply chain impacting several food service retailers. We are cooperating with the public health authorities in their efforts,” a statement from Chipotle reads in part.

Company officials said that after learning of the potential outbreak, the company’s ingredient traceability system identified jalapeños as the potential common ingredient from a single lot.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we proactively removed the jalapeños from our restaurants and replaced them with product from different growers,” the statement reads.

Shares of Chipotle fell 7% Tuesday afternoon after the announcement.

Hearst Television has reached out to Chipotle for clarification about which salmonella outbreak the jalapeños were reportedly tied to.

Chipotle has said that the jalapeños in question were sent to “several food service retailers across multiple states,” but did not clarify which states.

Earlier Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported that the company had removed jalapeños from multiple stores in Minnesota, saying the peppers could be linked to a state outbreak that has sickened 110 people.

Chipotle traditionally uses jalapeños in several products, including guacamole and roasted chili-corn salsa.

Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections, endocarditis and arthritis.