Chipotle’s E. Coli troubles expand to six states including Ohio
Just as Chipotle restaurants in Oregon and Washington have reopened following an E. coli scare, more cases have been found linking the company to the troublesome bacteria.
The CDC now says that 45 people have become sick from E. coli that appears to be linked to Chipotle restaurants with additional cases having been found in California, New York, Minnesota and Ohio. Chipotle has responded to news of the findings of the CDC. Here is a portion of that statement:
The CDC has informed Chipotle that it identified six additional cases in which initial testing matches the E. coli strain involved in the Washington and Oregon incident. Although one of the individuals has no known link to Chipotle, five individuals did report eating at Chipotle, including two in Turlock, Calif., one in Akron, Ohio, one in Amherst, NY, and one in Burnsville, Minn. Investigators have suggested that in incidents like this, it is not unusual to see additional cases after the initial incident as the investigation moves forward.
The source of the problem appears to have been contained during a period in late October. Forty-two of the 43 cases linked to Chipotle, reported visiting one of the restaurants in question between October 13 and October 30. One person reported having eaten November 6. In response to this incident, Chipotle has taken aggressive steps to make sure its restaurants are as safe as possible. There have been no reported new cases in Washington or Oregon since Chipotle put its remediation plan into effect.
Specifically, the company conducted deep cleaning at the restaurants that have been linked to this incident, replacing ingredients in those restaurants, changing food preparation procedures, providing all necessary supply chain data to investigators, and surveying employees to be sure none have had any symptoms of illness (note: no Chipotle employees in any states have been ill related to this incident). Similar actions are immediately being taken in response to these newly reported cases.
(jj)
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