Earlier this month the chain temporarily closed 43 of its stores in Washington and OR due to an E.coli outbreak, and the contamination seems to have spread.
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In all, 45 people in six states have been affected, with 43 of those saying they ate at Chipotle the week before they became sick. The CDC says it’s aware of illnesses that have occurred between October 19 and November 8, but that cases after October 31 might not have been reported yet.
The CDC reports that there have been two illnesses from California, two from Minnesota, one illness reported in NY, one in OH, 13 from OR, and 26 from Washington.
Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. fell 3.2 percent to $519.01 in premarket trading Monday. Sixteen people have been hospitalized as a result of E. coli, which can cause food poisoning and develop into life-threatening infections such as pneumonia and meningitis. “There have been no reported new cases in Washington or OR since Chipotle put its remediation plan into effect”.
Federal health officials said a menu item or ingredient at Chipotle is the likely source of the outbreak, but have not yet determined which food is linked.
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The FDA is now working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local officials to locate the exact food that caused the outbreak.
