- Kristen Behne filed a lawsuit against Chipotle after being hospitalized with sepsis, alleging it served salmonella-contaminated jalapeños that triggered a multistate outbreak linked to more than 200 illnesses.
- Behne ate a chicken burrito bowl from Chipotle in Roseville, Minnesota, on June 24, which included raw jalapeños; three days later, she fainted and was hospitalized with sepsis.
- Behne was discharged from the hospital on June 30 but claims she has not fully recovered.
- The Minnesota Department of Health classified her case as outbreak-associated on July 1.
- Behne is seeking more than $75,000 in damages for medical bills and suffering.
- The lawsuit claims Chipotle should have anticipated the risk, citing its history of foodborne illness incidents, including a 2015 salmonella outbreak in Minnesota that sickened 64 people.
- The outbreak was traced to contaminated jalapeños from a producer in Sinaloa, Mexico, supplying Chipotle and Qdoba, according to the FDA.
- As of Wednesday, the FDA had received reports of at least 110 cases in Minnesota, with more than 90% of patients reporting eating at Mexican-style restaurants between June 14 and July 14.
- All contaminated peppers have been pulled from shelves, and the outbreak is no longer active; Chipotle stated its robust ingredient traceability system allowed proactive removal of jalapeños from the affected lot.
A Minnesota woman, Kristen Behne, is suing Chipotle after being hospitalized with sepsis due to a salmonella outbreak linked to contaminated jalapeño peppers. Behne consumed a burrito bowl on June 24, leading to severe illness and hospitalization three days later.123
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, seeks over $75,000 in damages for medical expenses and suffering. Behne's case is part of a broader outbreak that has affected at least 212 people across the U.S., with 110 cases reported in Minnesota alone. Genetic testing confirmed her infection was associated with the outbreak, which health officials traced back to a specific lot of jalapeño peppers from Mexico.6
Behne experienced symptoms including a 102-degree fever, chills, and severe gastrointestinal distress, leading to her hospitalization on June 28. She was discharged two days later but claims she has not fully recovered. The lawsuit argues that Chipotle failed to learn from its past food safety issues, including a 2015 salmonella outbreak that sickened 64 people in Minnesota and a $25 million fine in 2020 for multiple outbreaks.78
Chipotle has stated that it acted
“The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court, seeks more than $75,000 in damages and cites Chipotle's history of foodborne illness, including a 2020 $25 million fine. The FDA traced the outbreak to contaminated jalapeños from a Sinaloa, Mexico producer, with at least 110 cases in Minnesota.”
CBS News
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