After cucumber havoc Chipotle linked to Minnesota salmonella outbreak

Results of investigations have forced health officials in Minnesota to suspect that the salmonella outbreak responsible for infecting a minimum of 45 people is linked to the state’s Chipotle restaurants. However, the officials are still not sure about the exact source of the contamination.

The people who are infected by salmonella belong to different age groups; reports suggest that they are aged between 15 and 67 years.

According to information provided by the Minnesota Department of Health, out of the 45 individuals developing the infection, five had to be hospitalized. However, the good news is that all infected individuals are currently recovering. The other reassuring news is that so far, there has been no sign that indicates that the outbreak has exceeded the state lines.

The health officials have made it clear that this salmonella outbreak has no link with the one related to cucumbers. They have informed that the bacteria responsible for causing these two outbreaks belong to different strains.

The Minnesota Department of Health confirmed that out of the 34 infected people who were interviewed, 32 admitted that they ate or probably ate at one of the state’s 17 Chipotle restaurants. However, now it seems that Chipotle fans have nothing to worry about as the health officials have said that they feel there’s no longer any transmission from those restaurants.

Dana Eikmeier, an epidemiologist, representing Minnesota Department of Health’s Food-borne Diseases Unit said that Chipotle has acted extremely proactively to collaborate with investigators so that the outbreak can be controlled quickly, and its source can be identified.

In one of his recent statements, Chris Arnold, the communications director of Chipotle, said that wellbeing and safety of customers have always been their highest priority. He added that the moment they were informed about the outbreak by the Minnesota Department of Health and their possible connection to it, they offer full cooperation for assisting the health department’s investigation.

That’s not all; Arnold said that the entire supply of the suspect ingredient got replaced to ensure that eating at Chipotle restaurants remains a safe thing to do. He continued by saying that although this health issue in the state doesn’t leave consumers at a constant risk, they will be kept on working with Minnesota’s health department and help it to determine the actual cause of the outbreak.