A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention food safety alert regarding a multistate outbreak of Salmonella linked to jalapeños has been posted at https://www.cdc.gov/Salmonella/outbreaks/javiana-08-26/index.html.
Key Points:
• 345 people across 27 states have gotten sick with the same strain of salmonella that has now been linked to jalapeños.
• 36 people have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.
• According to traceback information, these jalapeños were from Sinaloa, Mexico, and distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors.
• Coast Citrus Distributors jalapeño peppers were primarily distributed to restaurants or wholesale. Coast Citrus Distributors is recalling and notifying its customers.
• After being notified about the outbreak, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Qdoba stopped serving affected jalapeño peppers. Given their actions to remove product from their stores, neither of these establishments are considered a current ongoing risk to consumers in this outbreak.
• The Food and Drug Administration is working to determine if recalled jalapeños went to grocery stores. If affected jalapeño peppers were also available at stores, FDA may announce additional recalls on its recalls page. If you have recalled jalapeño peppers at home, do not eat them.
What You Should Do:
• Check with your place of purchase to confirm the source of jalapeño peppers.
• If you have recalled jalapeño peppers at home, do not eat them.
What Businesses Should Do:
• Do not sell or serve recalled jalapeño peppers.
• Wash and sanitize items and surfaces that may have come in contact with recalled jalapeño peppers.
• See FDA’s advisory for more information for businesses.
About Salmonella:
• Most people infected with salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps 6 hours to 6 days after being exposed to the bacteria.
• The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most people recover without treatment.
• In some people, the illness may be so severe that the patient is hospitalized.
• Children younger than 5, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to have severe illness.
