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Chipotle responds to new cases of E. coli

The recent E. coli outbreak that caused several Chipotle customers in the Pacific Northwest to become ill has now spread, infecting consumers in six states.

November 23, 2015

The recent E. coli outbreak that caused several Chipotle customers in the Pacific Northwest to become ill has now spread to infect consumers in six states.

Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reduced the number of cases last week connected to Chipotle from 50 to 37 (with 24 in Washington and 13 in Oregon) it also informed Chipotle that it has identified six additional cases in which initial testing matches the E. coli strain involved in the Washington and Oregon incidents.

Although one of the individuals infected has no known link to Chipotle, five individuals report eating at Chipotle, including two in Turlock, California, one in Akron, Ohio, one in Amherst, New York, and one in Burnsville, Minnesota, according to a Chipotle press release.

Investigators have suggested it is not unusual to see additional cases after an initial E. coli incident as the investigation moves forward, according to Chipotle. The source of the problem appears to have been contained during a period in late October. In 42 of the 43 cases linked to Chipotle consumers reported visiting one of the restaurants in question between Oct. 13 and Oct. 30. One person reported having eaten at a Chipotle on Nov. 6.

In response to this incident, Chipotle stated it has taken aggressive steps to make sure its restaurants are as safe as possible. There have been no reported new cases in Washington or Oregon since Chipotle put its remediation plan into effect, said Steve Ells, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle, in a press release.

“We take this incident very seriously because the safety of our food and wellbeing of our customers is always our highest priority,”. Ells said. “We are committed to taking any and all necessary actions to make sure our food is as safe as possible, and we are working diligently with the health agencies.”

Specifically, Ells said the company has:

• Conducted deep cleaning at the restaurants linked to this incident, replacing ingredients in those restaurants.
• Changed food preparation procedures.
• Provided all necessary supply chain data to investigators.
• Surveyed employees to ensure none have had any symptoms of illness No Chipotle employees in any states have been ill related to this incident, said Ells. Similar actions are immediately being taken in response to these newly reported cases.

As of Monday morning Chipotle had not responded to Fast Casual's inquiry regarding an update on the remediation effort and request for further insight on the investigation.