August 06, 2026
1 min read
Key takeaways:
- An investigation identified jalapeños sourced from Mexico as the cause of a Salmonella outbreak.
- Many patients reported eating at Mexican-style restaurants like Chipotle and Qdoba.
Health officials linked an outbreak of Salmonella that has sicked 345 people in 27 states to jalapeño peppers sourced from Mexico and distributed to restaurants and wholesalers in the United States.
There have been 36 hospitalizations and no deaths in the outbreak, the CDC and FDA said this week.
Jalapeños are the cause of a multistate outbreak of Salmonella, health officials said. Image: Adobe Stock
The implicated peppers were grown in Sinaloa, Mexico, and distributed in the U.S. by San Diego-based Coast Citrus Distributors, which has agreed to recall the peppers, health officials said.
According to the FDA, 93% of the 191 people interviewed in the outbreak investigation “reported eating at a Mexican-style restaurant before their illness, including Chipotle Mexican Grill and Qdoba, with meal dates ranging from June 14, 2026, to July 14, 2026.”
The CDC and FDA said both restaurant chains stopped serving the affected jalapeños — Chipotle on July 20 and Qdoba on July 28.
“Given their actions to remove product from their stores, CDC and FDA do not consider there to be a current ongoing risk from these establishments to consumers in this outbreak,” the agencies said.
The FDA is still investigating whether any of the implicated peppers ended up in grocery stores in the U.S.
Symptoms of Salmonella infection can appear in as little as 6 hours or up to 6 days after a person swallows the bacteria, according to the CDC. Common symptoms include diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps, which usually resolve on their own within a week. Young children and older adults are at a higher risk for more serious illness.
Salmonella is one of the most common causes of foodborne illness. In addition to food and beverages like chicken, eggs, raw milk and oysters, outbreaks have also been linked to contact with animals, including bearded dragons, hedgehogs and backyard poultry.
Health officials are also still responding to an outbreak of cyclosporiasis that has sickened more than 6,300 people and was linked to the deaths of two people in Michigan.
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