An outbreak of E. coli bacteria linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants has spread, with the number of people sickened rising from 22 to 37, USA authorities said on Tuesday.
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After shutting restaurants in Seattle and Portland, Oregon, Chipotle is doing a deep cleaning of the locations, the company said in a statement Tuesday. They say they may have more information as soon as Wednesday but it’s likely the full investigation will take more than a few days. They touched their lowest level since July on Monday due to fears the food-borne illness could steer diners away from the company’s more than 1,900 restaurants across the United States.
Washington health officials said the number of cases in that state has also grown, now standing at 25, coming from Clark, Cowlitz, Island, King and Skagit counties.
A lawsuit was filed against the company Tuesday by a Washington woman who alleges she contracted an E.coli infection after eating a burrito bowl on October 21 in a Chipotle restaurant in Vancouver.
Retaining two preeminent food safety consulting firms (including Seattle-based IEH Laboratories and Consulting Group) to help the company assess and improve upon its already high standards for food safety.
Nine people in Washington have been hospitalized.
This marks the third time this year that Chipotle restaurants have dealt with a major food safety problem.
Chipotle uses technology to track its food supply, from the ground to their restaurants. An E. coli outbreak linked to Chipotle restaurants in Washington state and OR has sickened n… Health officials are working to establish criteria for reopening.
Hedberg said, “We are encouraging anyone who has eaten at a Chipotle restaurant and has developed severe diarrhea or bloody diarrhea (to) seek health care”. Cases of the bacterial illness were traced to six of the fast-casual Mexican food restaurants, but the company voluntarily closed down 43 of its locations in the two states as a precaution.
Chipotle has temporarily closed all 43 locations in Washington and Oregon. “Restaurants, supermarkets, and other food suppliers receive produce that may be exposed to contaminated water at the source where they are grown, picked, and packed”. “We’re still looking at everything, but from what we’ve heard from the people who got sick the produce seems the most probable source”. The ages of people involved range from 5 to 60 years old, according to state health officials.
According to her, she suffered a bloody diarrhea, a symptom of an E.coli infection.
Health officials believe the culprit will likely be fresh food such as lettuce or tomatoes, but they won’t know for sure until the testing and interviewing is complete.
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While no cause has yet been identified by investigating health officials, Chipotle continues to work swiftly and thoroughly with health department officials as they look to conclude this investigation.
