Chipotle said affected individuals reported eating at two restaurants in Turlock, Calif; one in Akron, OH; one in Amherst, NY; and one in Burnsville, Minn. Then 13 come from OR, two from California, two from Minnesota, while OH and NY have each had one victim. “The good news is the exposure happened at the end of October at the same time period the other states reported exposures, and so far we have not had any subsequent E. Coli cases reported to us, so we’re hoping this outbreak is coming to a close”, said Burstein.
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Seattle attorney Bill Marler, who is representing almost three dozen people affected by the outbreak in OR and Washington state, told Reuters the increase in reported cases raises the likelihood that the culprit will be identified. A total of 45 people have gotten sick from the strain – 43 of those people had recently eaten a tasty, non-GMO, sustainably sourced (sometimes), E. coli-laced burrito from Chipotle. There have been no deaths.
The CDC is still trying to ascertain what specific food is linked to the evidence, but what they do know suggests it is coming from a “common meal item or ingredient served at Chipotle”. The company closed all of its 43 restaurants in those two cities on Halloween, and after cooperating with authorities, deep-cleaning the restaurants, and ramping up safety measures, the units were eventually reopened last week.
The expanded outbreak is the latest public relations issue for Chipotle, which promotes itself with the tagline “Food With Integrity”.
“Chipotle has been very cooperative with the investigation and has been very forthcoming in allowing the local health departments to conduct restaurant inspection”, Burstein said. Chipotle said, in a press release, no new cases in Washington or OR have occurred since then.
For consumers who feel they may have been exposed to E. coli, the symptoms to watch for include abdominal pain and watery diarrhea that is sometimes bloody, according to the CDC.
Washington had the most reported cases linked to the fast-food chain, at 26.
Shares of the Denver-based restaurant chain plunged 12.5 percent to $534.99, a new low for the year. An outbreak of E. coli that originated in the Pacific Northwest has spread south and east and has now infected people in six states.
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The company said that it’s taking aggressive steps to “make sure its restaurants are as safe as possible”. Similar actions are immediately being taken in response to these newly reported cases.
