Boston College: 120 sickened after eating at Chipotle

If tests confirm that the Boston illnesses are the result of norovirus, it would support Chipotle’s previous statement that whatever ingredient that was likely to blame for the E. coli is out of its restaurants by now.

“We know there is a gastrointestinal illness, we know it appears to be connected to the Chipotle on Cleveland Circle right near the BC campus”, Zoback told Eater.

This is the company’s third food safety incident since August.

According to Boston College last Monday, several students reported experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms.

The school sent an alert to students, which read, “The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has been notified and is working to determine if there is a link to the ongoing national outbreak of E. coli”. A separate E. coli outbreak that’s made 19 people sick in seven states was linked to celery sold at Costco, 7-11, King Sooper and other stores.

Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold said the situation at the chain’s Boston College location was “probably” norovirus, a highly contagious bug that causes vomiting and diarrhea.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. closed the restaurant in Boston’s Cleveland Circle and said it thinks the illnesses are the result of an isolated incident of norovirus, not a multi-state outbreak of E. coli linked to its restaurants. The Boston Public Health Commission reported 65 known cases.

The number of Boston College students who got sick after eating at a Brighton Chipotle has now risen to 80.

An inspector temporarily suspended Chipotle’s permit after finding three violations: cooked chicken and steak was below the proper holding temperature of 140 degrees and an employee working despite being sick.

According to the release from Chipotle, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports about 48 million cases of food-related illness in the USA annually. It is important to note that noroviruses are very common, in part because they are so easily transmitted (they can spread through person-to-person contact, on surface areas, or through food or drink).

On Monday, Chipotle closed the location as officials investigated reports of food-borne illness that sickened some customers, including players on the Boston College basketball team.

Before the E.Coli fiasco, Chipotle prided itself as the anti-thesis to unhealthy fastfood chains.

Norovirus is notorious for causing large outbreaks of sickness and it can be spread by a single sick restaurant worker or one sick patron. The stock is down almost 25 percent in the quarter to date.