Chipotle’s shares continue to drop as E. coli outbreak widens

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated on Friday that further seven people have got ill in three new states, which includes Illinois, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

Of the 52 reported cases, 47 reported eating at Chipotle before becoming ill, said the CDC.

The company is now scrambling to tighten up its procedures for guaranteeing the safety of its food as investigators continue to dig into what caused the outbreak.

Shares fell 7% in after-hours trading when the chain said that 4th quarter sales are expected to fall at least 8%.

Chipotle also discussed some of the new measures it’s undertaken to improve safety and quality, including more extensive food testing and improved training. Since then, additional cases have been reported in California, Minnesota New York, and Ohio.

The majority of the illnesses have been in OR and Washington, where cases were initially reported at the end of October.

The CDC explained that investigators are studying the sequence of the bacterial DNA of the E. coli strain in order to find out where the epidemic comes from. Of the three most recent illnesses reported in November, only one ill person reported eating at Chipotle in the week before their illness began on November 10, said the CDC.

Figures have yet to show how the E. Coli crisis has affected Chipotle with the bad publicity involved, but Chipotle plans to provide financial updates for a presentation to analysts and investors on Tuesday, according to the New York Daily News.

Seven additional Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O26 (STEC O26) infections have been reported linked to the Chipotle Mexican Grill outbreak.

Bill Marler of Seattle law firm Marler Clark commented that people should not totally rely on a company that uses only local and fresh ingredients, since it is not immune from food safety issues.

However, some are pathogenic, meaning they can cause illness, either diarrhea or illness outside of the intestinal tract.

The CDC also said illnesses that started after November 11 may not be reported yet.