This Tuesday, the fast food restaurant franchise specializing in Tex-Mex cuisine, Chipotle Mexican Grill, announced the withdrawal of its famous jalapenos in several of its restaurants due to a possible salmonella outbreak at one of its locations in Minnesota.
In a statement, the restaurant chain noted that, "out of an abundance of caution, we are removing jalapenos from our restaurants and replacing them with products from other producers. The Minnesota Department of Health has confirmed that it has no concerns regarding Chipotle. We are collaborating with public health authorities in their efforts," it said.
According to the report from the health entity in Minnesota, so far 110 cases related to this outbreak have been identified, of which 75 claimed to have eaten at Chipotle between June 14 and July 14.
For its part, the restaurant claimed to have replaced the peppers and thoroughly reviewed its supply chain, after on July 22 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported a trace of “multiple ingredients” that tested positive for salmonella contamination.
In this regard, Carlota Medus, senior epidemiologist supervisor at the Minnesota Department of Health, highlighted that, "given the measures that Chipotle implemented, we are not concerned. However, it is possible that the outbreak continues if contaminated food is served in other locations," she said.
The epidemiological supervisor also pointed out that the health entity expects the number of cases to increase even if the illnesses occurred a couple of weeks ago, since it will take time to detect the cases through epidemiological surveillance.
Although Chipotle has taken the necessary measures, by the close of this Tuesday its shares fell 8.8% to $34.18 dollars, like other restaurants, which have been affected after the cyclosporiasis outbreak, where their sales have fallen up to 30%.
