Boston College Students Sickened After Eating at Nearby Chipotle

In addition to temporarily closing 43 restaurants in Washington state and Oregon, Chipotle announced a host of new safety measures including increased testing and training in the wake of the outbreak.

The students are being tested for both E. coli and norovirus, a highly contagious pathogen that also can cause severe vomiting and diarrhea, but test results are not expected for at least two days, a university spokesman said.

The investigation was launched Monday after BC students said they felt sick after eating there.

Local health inspectors closed the Cleveland Circle location on Monday after it was cited for having a sick employee working with food and failing to keep stored meat at proper temperatures.

Chipotle officials said the Boston contamination was not related to the E. coli affecting other franchises.

Earlier in the day, Chipotle said health officials in Boston believe food-borne illness at one of its MA locations is likely norovirus. Until now, over 42 people from nine states have confirmed to officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that have eaten from a Chipotle outlet before they fell sick.

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. However, spokesperson Chris Arnold tells Eater the company thinks norovirus is behind the rash of foodborne illness.

A national outbreak of E. coli has been linked to Denver-based Chipotle, which has said that it is adopting stricter food safety standards. “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)”.

Executives said the chain may eventually raise prices to make up for its investments in improving food safety.

Credit: Lakewood Mag.”All 80 students have confirmed that they ate at the Chipotle Restaurant in Cleveland Circle during the weekend”, Boston College said in a statement.

That would mark the first time the sales figure has declined since Chipotle went public in 2006.

The company had said that it had no evidence to suggest a connection between that outbreak and the Boston incident.

The most recent illness started November 13, according to the CDC.