A man walks near a closed Chipotle restaurant on Monday, Dec. 7, 2015, in the Cleveland Circle neighborhood of Boston.
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“There are now 65 known case reports that include Boston College residents, students, and non-BC patrons, but the information is constantly evolving”, the commission said in a statement.
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc said an incident in which thirty Boston College students fell sick after eating at one of the burrito chain’s restaurants, was likely caused by norovirus, not E. coli.
Boston Inspectional Services Commissioner William Christopher announced the results of an investigation into that Chipotle on Tuesday.
The illnesses come as Chipotle’s sales are already being slammed by a multi-state outbreak of E. coli linked to its restaurants.
Dozens of people have contracted E. coli after eating in Chipotle restaurants across the United States.
The city said the restaurant has not had any major violations since 2008.
Chris Cameron, a spokesman for Boston College’s athletics department, said at least eight basketball players reported gastrointestinal symptoms overnight Saturday.
Noroviruses is a group of viruses that can cause vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain. And the initial laboratory testing done indicated that norovirus is the cause of the illness.
Since then cases have been reported in Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania, California, Minnesota, New York and Ohio. Also, the multiple reports of foodborne illness which “poses an imminent health hazard”. But he noted the E. coli cases are “all the more damaging” for Chipotle because of its “Food With Integrity” slogan.
Norovirus can persist in an environment for up to six weeks, said Benjamin Chapman, a food safety specialist at North Carolina State University. That would mark the first decline since the company went public in 2006.
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For the fourth quarter, the company expects sales to drop between 8 and 11 percent at established locations if current trends continue.
