St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Minnesota Health Department says state health and agriculture officials are investigating an outbreak of salmonella illness that has been associated with Chipotle restaurants in Minnesota.

45 cases of the infection have been reported to the Health Department since last Wednesday and the bacteria responsible for all of the cases have matching or very similar DNA fingerprints. Officials say investigators have interviewed 34 people and 32 reported they ate or likely ate at 17 different Chipotle restaurant locations, including one in Rochester. Most of the other locations are in the Twin Cities.

The people interviewed indicated the meals occurred between August 16th and the 26th, and they became ill between August 20th and the 29th. Five of the people have been hospitalized and officials say all of them are recovering.

Officials say Chipotle has changed the source of the suspected produce item and has taken every appropriate measure to ensure that it is safe to eat at the company’s restaurants. State Health Department investigators also say they are confident the ongoing transmission of the bacteria at Chipotle has ended.

“Chipotle has been extremely proactive in collaborating with investigators to quickly control the outbreak and identify its source,” said Dana Eikmeier, epidemiologist for the Foodborne Diseases Unit of MDH.

More From 106.9 KROC-FM