An E. coli outbreak linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill has spread to Maryland, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. The CDC added that out of 52 people infected, 47 reported eating at a Chipotle restaurants a week before the illness started.
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The ingredient responsible for the illnesses has not yet been determined.
“Chipotle’s enhanced food safety program is the product of a comprehensive reassessment of our food safety practices conducted with IEH Laboratories that included a farm-to-fork assessment of each ingredient we use with an eye toward establishing the highest standards for safety”, the company said in a statement on its Facebook page Friday. In October, the company had forecast sales at established locations would be up in the low- to mid-single digit percentages for 2015.
The CDC said on November 20 that it is aware of illnesses starting between October 19 and November 8, but that additional cases could be reported for illnesses that started after October 31.
The company said it expects to earn $2.45 per share to $2.85 per share in the fourth quarter, which is below analysts’ expectations of $4.12 per share, according to Zacks Investment Research.
The bacterial illness exhibits symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. As of November 10, 2015, it operated approximately 1,900 restaurants, including 17 Chipotle restaurants outside the United States and 11 ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen restaurants.
In addition, Chipotle said it expects to spend between $6 million and $8 million to replace food, send food samples for analysis, test restaurants and consult with advisers.
The Denver-based chain said the new procedures will include testing of all produce before it is shipped to restaurants, and testing to ensure quality throughout shelf life. It said that no ingredients that are likely to have been linked with the outbreak remain in its restaurants.
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