E.COLI Linked to Chipotle Expands to Nine States, Shares Lower — CDC

No deaths have been reported due to E. coli, though 20 people have been hospitalized for it. Shuts 43 Restaurants On Health Risk” published on November 02, 2015 as well as Investorplace.com’s news article titled: “Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.: “CMG Stock Is Begging to Bounce” with publication date: “November 09, 2015. They were reopened in early November. This enhanced food safety program is how they hope to meet that goal. The CDC reported seven new cases on Friday including the addition of people in new states: Illinois, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. SunTrust reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research note on Monday, November 23rd. Officials last month determined the outbreak extended outside the Pacific Northwest to Minnesota and NY, among other states.

The CDC has yet to determine what specific ingredient caused the outbreak.

Chipotle said all of the ingredients linked to the E.coli outbreak have been expunged from its restaurants.

The Denver-based restaurant chain with more than 1,900 locations said it has brought on Seattle-based IEH Laboratories to help it find ways to improve food safety practices throughout its operations, from farms to restaurants.

The CDC continues to report new cases related to the E. coli outbreak.

Chipotle’s full-year guidance calls for a same-store sales increase in the range of a low to mid-single digit percentage.

Chipotle shares, which finished the day down 0.7%, were down 6% in after-hours trading on Friday.

With the data collected from the testing, Chipotle will measure the performance of its vendors and suppliers, the company said.

“In testing for pathogens, in many ways you’re looking for needles in haystacks”.

In making this announcement today, Chipotle says that the company’s main objective is “to achieve the highest level of safety possible”.

Shares of the company’s stock have dropped 25 percent since mid-October.

As should be expected, the appearance of ongoing cases and the inability to identify the source of the outbreak has even loyal customers holding off on dining at Chipotle. They joined California, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Oregon and Washington.

While the source of the outbreak remains unknown, investigators believe that a fresh produce ingredient might have been shipped from one location to several restaurants across the country. Prior to Friday’s report, the onset of most cases of illness had been in late October. The remaining states have reported three or fewer instances of illness, according to the CDC. “Through its vision of Food with Integrity, Chipotle is seeking better food not only from a variety of fresh ingredients, but ingredients that are sustainably grown and naturally raised with respect for the animals, the land, and the farmers who produce the food”.

An estimated 48 million Americans get sick each year from foodborne diseases.

In total, The Centers for Disease and Prevention says there have been 52 cases reported across 9 states.