Qdoba pulls jalapeños from 800-plus outlets amid US salmonella probe

Qdoba Restaurant Corp. removed jalapeños from more than 800 of its US restaurants and said it is cooperating with authorities investigating a Salmonella javiana outbreak, Livemint reported, citing Bloomberg News. Qdoba said in a statement that it had proactively removed jalapeños from all its restaurants out of caution, but did not disclose when the ingredient was pulled or which states are part of the inquiry. Chipotle Mexican Grill also removed jalapeños from multiple Minnesota stores after its ingredient-traceability system flagged a common lot as a possible link, and replaced them with peppers from other growers, according to a regulatory filing. The US Food and Drug Administration said the outbreak has sickened more than 300 people since it began examining multiple ingredients on 22 July, with Minnesota and Colorado each reporting 110 cases, no supplier has been publicly identified. A Minnesota health official said evidence so far shows the implicated food was also served at other restaurants besides Chipotle.