A Salmonellaoutbreak linked to jalapeño peppers has sickened hundreds of people in at least 27 U.S. states, according to an Aug. 6 food-safety alert released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The CDC identified jalapeño peppers grown in Sinaloa, Mexico, and distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors as theuding Chipotle and Qdoba, the CDC said. At least 345 people have been sickened in the outbreak to date, and 36 people have been hospitalized.
Minnesota and Colorado have been especially hard-hit, reporting at least 110 cases each. A woman in Minnesota has sued Chipotle claiming that the restaurant allegedly served her contaminated jalapeño peppers. Kristen Behne says she developed a 102°F fever and was hospitalized with sepsis after eating a chicken burrito bowl at a Chipotle restaurant in Roseville, Minn., in late June, CBS News reported
Chipotle said in an Aug. 5 statement that it had removed jalapeños supplied by Coast Citrus Distributors from its restaurants across the country “and replaced them with product from different growers.” Qdoba said it had removed all jalapeños from its restaurants “out of an abundance of caution.”
The CDC and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in an update about the outbreak that they do not “consider there to be a current ongoing risk” linked to Chipotle or Qdoba. The CDC and FDA said they continue to investigate the outbreak, including probing whether the contaminated jalapeño peppers were sold at grocery stores
The FDA said Coast Citrus Distributors has agreed to initiate a recall of jalapeño peppers implicated in the outbreak and was “in the process of identifying and contacting affected customers.”
Salmonella, a bacteria that mostly spreads through contaminated food and water, is one of the most common foodborne pathogens in the U.S. and globally, infecting tens of millions of people every year. Incidences of the disease are on the rise globally, according to a 2025 study. Salmonellacases increased by almost 50% between 1990 and 2021, and deaths from Salmonella infection increased by almost 27% over the same period, the study said.
Most people infected with Salmonellasuffer diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps, starting 6 hours to 6 days after ingesting the bacteria, the CDC says. Most people recover without treatment after 4 to 7 days, but the illness can be severe or even life-threatening in some people, including young children, the elderly, and people with weak immune systems.
The CDC recommends people seek medical care if they have severe or lingering symptoms of food poisoning, including a fever higher than 102°F; diarrhea that doesn’t improve after 3 days; bloody diarrhea; and signs of dehydration, such as a lack of urination.
U.S. health officials are currently investigating multiple Salmonellaoutbreaks across the country, including one linked to eggs and another tied to backyard poultry. The FDA said in late July that Midwest Poultry Services had recalled 1.5 million eggs due to possible Salmonellacontamination. Affected eggs had been sold at Kroger stores in Texas and Louisiana; Brookshire Grocery stores in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana; as well as other retailers in those states and in Mississippi and New Mexico.
The U.S. is also grappling with a record cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened thousands of people. Michigan health officials said on Aug. 3 that two people had died in the outbreak
