For the past few months, Chipotle has been under the radar, with federal authorities investigating a pathogenic E. coli strain, which has now affected 52 people across nine states, with 47 of these individuals saying they ate at Chipotle right before they fell sick.
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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported related E. coli O26 illness in three new states.
At the end of October, cases had been reported in OR and Washington. Cases have now also been reported in California, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. To date, 52 people have become ill with E. Coli within a week of eating at a Chipotle restaurant in October and November, with 20 having been hospitalized.
Until now, after all the effort exerted by different agencies, it has not yet been confirmed as to what ingredient is the source of this outbreak.
The company expects its earnings to range between $2.45 and $2.85 per share for the quarter, while analysts had estimated earnings of $4.09 per share. Considering the fact that the illnesses actually occurred between mid October and early November, it is not a surprise that the reports are just on the process of making their way through.
The Mexican food chain said it hired IEH Laboratories in Seattle to help improve its system, and that new procedures will include testing of all produce before it is shipped to restaurants. Stock of the company dropped 8% in after-hour trading on Friday. Symptoms can be severe and include abdominal pain, diarrhea, and a host of other complications. While that may be good for nutrition, experts say it raises the risk of food-borne illness because cooking kills pathogens.
Chris Arnold, a spokesman for Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., said the company’s local produce suppliers may not all be able to meet the new standards. It can no longer predict sales for coming year because of “uncertainty” associated with the E. coli incident.
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Chipotle has not yet said how sales have been affected by the bad publicity from the E. coli outbreak, but said it would provide a financial update before its presentation at the Bernstein Consumer Summit on Tuesday.
