Chipotle says it is tightening food safety standards following E. coli cases

Following this news shares of Chipotle fell sharply, losing as much as 4%, but had rebounded quicly and near noon on Friday were off about 3%.

Chipotle warned Friday that an outbreak of E. coli linked to its restaurants is hurting its sales and warned that if recent trends continue, it expects earnings for the current quarter to come in way below analysts’ prediction.

Pennsylvania was added to the list of states reporting E. coli 026 illness, and 47 of 52 national cases have been traced to Chipotle Mexican Grill.

Among individuals for whom information is available, illnesses began on dates ranging from October 19, 2015 through November 13, 2015.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a total of 52 cases have now been reported in nine states, including Illinois, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Health officials identified tomatoes as the source of the Minnesota Salmonella outbreak.

In addition to testing, the company will also enhance internal training to ensure all employees thoroughly understand the company’s high standards for food safety and handling, the company said. That was up from the six states and 45 illnesses as of late November.

The CDC’s investigation is still ongoing to determine what specific food is linked to this illness.

According to the CDC, this kind of E. coli “live in the guts of ruminant animals” and infections start when you swallow the bacteria – “in other words, when you get tiny (usually invisible) amounts of human or animal feces in your mouth”. The severity of the national impact was temporary, and when we announced the re-opening of restaurants in OR and Washington on November 10, 2015, comparable restaurant sales over the next several days quickly improved to approximately -9%.

The CDC has not determined the ingredient that made people sick.

Chipotle said earlier Friday that it would overhaul its food-safety procedures after the outbreak.

Chipotle (CMG) has prided itself on buying ingredients from small local suppliers, but the food-safety move reflects a practical acknowledgment that food-safety challenges are making it more hard. But some strains can cause serious symptoms and even be life-threatening, and are spread by oral contact with fecal matter.

Bill Marler of Seattle law firm Marler Clark commented that people should not totally rely on a company that uses only local and fresh ingredients, since it is not immune from food safety issues. Of these, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die, according to the CDC.