More than 80 college students ill after eating at Chipotle

“The number of Boston College students who have reported to BC Health Services with GI symptoms has risen to 80 as of noon today”. For the moment, the affected Chipotle Mexican Grill location remains closed while the investigation is underway.

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

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

A spokesperson for the Boston Public Health Commission was not immediately available for comment.

The Mexican food giant was forced to shut down their location near the college after the reports, when Boston city health officials found that the cooked chicken was being stored at far too low a temperature on site and an employee was found to be sick while at work.

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. “There are no confirmed cases of E. coli connected to Chipotle in MA”.

Symptoms of both illnesses are similar – diarrhea, stomach cramps and fever.

Chipotle is now under siege from a nationwide E. coli outbreak that they have been unable to find the source of or halt, which is sending the company’s stock price tumbling.

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

In its annual report, Chipotle has noted it may be at a higher risk for outbreaks of food-borne illnesses because of its “fresh produce and meats rather than frozen, and our reliance on employees cooking with traditional methods rather than automation”.

The closure of the restaurant comes after Chipotle had already warned that a key sales figure is expected to fall in the fourth quarter as a result of the outbreak.

Shares closed Monday’s trading at 551.75 and opened Tuesday down 3.5 percent at 532.00.