Chipotle to reopen all 43 outlets closed after outbreak of E coli

The company said no Chipotle employees have had E. coli from the incident.

“Health officials have concluded that there is no ongoing risk from this incident”, the statement said.

The company’s tests on food, surfaces, and equipment have turned up no positive samples, from the almost 900 results received so far.

The cause of an E. coli outbreak linked to Chipotle restaurants in Washington and or remains unknown, according to health officials from the Washington State Department of Health. Chipotle voluntarily closed 43 restaurants in Washington and OR last week after the outbreak.

Conducting independent testing in its restaurants and distribution center in addition to testing conducted by health department and Food and Drug Administration officials, all of which showed no E. coli.

That person, however, did not eat at Chipotle, Washington health officials said.

“Our goal, ultimately, is to find the source”, Modie said.

No Chipotle locations outside of OR and Washington have been connected to the West Coast outbreak in any way. Majority had dined at Chipotle restaurants in the greater Seattle and Portland areas.

Co-CEO Steve Ells said the chain will look for ways to improve its food safety following the outbreak, USA Today notes.

Meanwhile, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) yesterday said Chipotle has agreed to its criteria for reopening restaurants, such as pre-testing high-risk foods and rinsing and sanitizing all fresh produce.

Chipotle said it has cleaned and sanitized all the affected outlets and replaced all the ingredients the chain uses.

“We have also retained two of the nation’s best food-safety scientists to work with us to assess practices and find additional areas for improvement”, Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold said.

At least a dozen of those sickened in the outbreak had to be hospitalized.

People usually get sick from STEC (Shiga toxin-producing E. coli) 2-8 days (average of 3-4 days) after swallowing the organism, said FDA.

There are about 48 million cases of food borne disease every year in the United States, sending about 105,000 people to the hospital and resulting in 2,000 deaths.

County public health food safety inspectors will visit each restaurant to verify these actions.

The 28 Washington cases are on the western side of the state.