DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Federal health officials say the link between imported jalapeño peppers and a possible Salmonella outbreak has made hundreds of people sick.
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During the lunch hour in Buckhead Thursday, Nick Allen had a taste for Mexican.
“Freak you out a little bit?” asked Channel 2’s Berndt Petersen.
“Yeah. Absolutely. I go there probably twice a week,” Nick said.
To Chipotle, where jalapeños are off the menu. Same at Qdoba. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says some peppers imported from Mexico that ended up at the two restaurant chains made more than 300 people across 27 states sick.
“We have seen a little over a 10% hospitalization rate from the Salmonella outbreak, so it’s not something to be taken lightly,” Wellstar Health System’s Dr. Andrew Thornton said.
Thornton says symptoms can include diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. The outbreak was first reported in mid-June, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says by mid-July the worst was over. The feds say there is no ongoing risk at either restaurant chain.
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Wallace Evans is a longtime Chipotle customer.
“I trust them. When they heard about the salmonella, they immediately withdrew the jalapeños from their restaurants,” Evans said.
Nick Allen isn’t worried either, but he’ll play it safe a while longer.
“So no jalapeños in there?” Petersen asked as Allen opened his Chipotle bag.
“No jalapeños. Didn’t do it! They try to push you to eat your greens, and now the greens are getting you sick,” Allen said jokingly.
Health officials say there were six confirmed Salmonella cases in Georgia, a total of three dozen hospitalizations nationwide, but no deaths.
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