Chipotle began removing jalapeños from some restaurants in early August 2026 after identifying the peppers as a likely source of a salmonella outbreak linked to a batch from Sinaloa, Mexico, officials announced this week [1, 2, 3]. The outbreak has sickened at least 345 people across 27 states and hospitalized 36, with Minnesota and Colorado reporting the most cases [3, 4, 5].
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) traced the illness to jalapeño peppers imported from Sinaloa and distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors to restaurants including Chipotle and QDOBA [3, 4, 5]. Both chains quickly removed jalapeños from their menus; QDOBA pulled the peppers from all its US locations as a precaution [3, 4, 5].
Chipotle spokesperson Laurie Schalow said, "We have a robust ingredient traceability system and, upon learning of a potential Salmonella outbreak in the supply chain impacting several food service retailers, we proactively identified jalapeños as a potential common ingredient from a common lot, removed them from the restaurants where they had been distributed, and replaced them with product from different growers" [2].
Minnesota health officials reported the state alone has seen about 110 cases so far. Carlota Medus, senior epidemiologist supervisor at the Minnesota Department of Health, said, "Nearly 90% of the 84 patients interviewed reported eating at Chipotle from mid-June to July" [6]. The CDC noted neither Chipotle nor QDOBA are considered ongoing risks to customers given their removal of the tainted product [3].
The salmonella strain involved is Salmonella Javiana [6, 7]. The Food and Drug Administration is investigating whether the affected jalapeño peppers also entered consumer grocery supply chains [3, 4, 5].
Chipotle’s shares dropped between 5% and 9% on the trading day after the outbreak announcement, reflecting investor concern over the impact [1, 2, 6, 7, 4]. The combined US locations of Chipotle and QDOBA total around 4,850 restaurants [4, 5].
Authorities stressed that this salmonella outbreak is distinct from a concurrent cyclospora outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms in Mexico, which has caused more than 6,700 illnesses and deaths in Michigan [1, 2, 7, 4, 5].
On August 4, Chipotle first announced the removal of jalapeños from some Minnesota restaurants. Between August 5 and 6, the CDC announced the outbreak source and QDOBA removed jalapeños nationwide [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
The FDA’s ongoing investigation and monitoring continues as restaurants remain vigilant in removing any suspect jalapeño products to prevent further illnesses.
