The outbreak expanded with new cases being reported from OH, California, Minnesota and NY, and all the cases were linked to Chipotle, according to the CDC.
Advertisement
In their November 17 update, CDC officials reported the Minnesota E. coli case was not related to the OR and Washington outbreak.
He said investigators think the outbreak is linked to an uncooked produce item, but they have yet to determine the specific ingredient linked to the illness.
43 of the 45 total said they ate a Chipotle restaurant within a week of getting sick.
Both County and State health departments are now investigating a single case of E. Coli, suffered by an Erie County resident in October.
There have been no deaths, but 43 of the 45 had reported eating at a Chipotle in the week before becoming ill.
Of those sickened, two have been in California, two in Minnesota, one in NY, one in OH, 13 in OR and 26 in Washington, according to the CDC. New cases are reported in California, NY and Ohio.
Health officials have linked illnesses to six restaurants in OR, five in Washington, one in Turlock, Calif., one in Akron, Ohio, one in Amherst, NY, and one in Burnsville, Minn. “Chipotle has taken important steps to make certain that our food is as safe as it can be”, said the company.
The Chipotle E. coli outbreak has also changed the tastes of people with demands for more fresh food and less processed food.
The news that it has now extended to half a dozen states could have huge repercussions for Chipotle Mexican Grill, as it was previously believed that this outbreak had just affected the northwest.
Shares of Chipotle have now plunged almost 15% since the news of the first outbreak was reported in October. An E. coli outbreak at Jack in the Box restaurants in 1993 killed four people and, not surprisingly, caused a dramatic drop in sales.
Advertisement
People usually get sick from STEC (Shiga toxin-producing E. coli) 2-8 days (average of 3-4 days) after swallowing the organism (germ). These include deep cleaning of affected stores, testing key ingredients and examining food-safety procedures to find “any opportunity for improvement”.
