Just when you thought it was safe to enjoy fast Mexican food again.
In a summer with its share of news about outbreaks of foodborne illness, health officials added a new one to the list. Salmonella, linked to foreign-grown peppers, jalapeños to be precise.
Colorado has recorded 110 cases associated with the multistate Salmonella outbreak, according to the state health department, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
“Of the cases that we’ve had here in Colorado, we have had six hospitalizations,” said Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the state epidemiologist. “Most of the time, Salmonella is going to be a limited infection, meaning that most people will recover on their own.”
She said the illnesses were associated with a contaminated product supplied to restaurants Qdoba and Chipotle. Both chains stopped serving the peppers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) doesn’t think there’s an ongoing risk to consumers. It issued a food safety alert Thursday. It said:
345 people across 27 states have gotten sick with the same strain of Salmonella that’s been linked to jalapeños.36 people have been hospitalized; no deaths have been reported.The jalapeños were grown in Sinaloa, Mexico, and distributed by Coast Citrus Distributors, according to what’s called traceback information
The agency said, in the alert, that the distributor, Coast Citrus, mostly ships the peppers to restaurants or wholesale, and is recalling the produce and notifying customers. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is trying to see if recalled jalapeños were also shipped to grocery stores, and may announce additional recalls.
Salmonella symptoms to watch for
Salmonella is a bacteria that’s one of the leading causes of foodborne illness in the US.
Symptoms include diarrhea and severe stomach cramps, but can also make you nauseous, cause headaches, vomiting and fever. And those symptoms can last up to a week.
Janice Haney Carr/CDC via APFILE – This 2009 electron microscope image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a large group of Gram-negative Salmonella typhimurium bacteria that had been isolated from a pure culture.
Herlihy said people should watch out for a high, persistent fever.
“That’s going to be certainly a concern and something you want to talk to a healthcare provider about,” she said. “And then the other big risk is really going to be dehydration.”
If you are not able to keep up with fluid intake because of nausea or vomiting, it is important to reach out to your healthcare provider, she said.
She noted that with some infections that cause diarrhea, there’s often a temptation to take anti-diarrheal medications.
“Sometimes those are actually not the best thing to do because your system’s trying to get rid of the bacteria,” Herlihy said. “I think it is important to talk to your healthcare provider about any treatments that you’re considering for your diarrhea.”
Dining and Cooking