Coli outbreak appears to be over: CDC

Five people have been reported ill with E. coli in an outbreak last month linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill, according to officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to the CDC, three of the newly-reported cases are in Oklahoma, with one in Kansas and another in North Dakota.

Chipotle said it would revise its standards after the initial reports of illnesses surfaced in late October and early November. The CDC said the five cases have a different DNA strain of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli than the strain found to have caused 53 cases in nine states since October.

The BOSTONHERALD notes that, So far, the agency said five people have been reported sick in the new outbreak, with illnesses starting between November 18 and November 26. Six days later, Taylor Farms Pacific voluntarily recalled the celery and onion diced blend used in the Costco chicken salad and many other products containing celery, because they might be contaminated with E. coli.

Chipotle co-CEO Steve Ells has told The Associated Press he doesn’t think the company will ever know for sure the exact ingredient that sickened customers in the larger outbreak, but that he believes it was bacteria in fresh food like tomatoes or cilantro. The investigations are ongoing.

“The epidemiologic evidence available at this time suggests that a common meal item or ingredient served at Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants in several states is a likely source of this outbreak”, the CDC said in its update. “We are now in the process of implementing those programs”, Chipotle Communications Director Chris Arnold said.

The findings came after both of the company’s chief executives stated that no E. coli cases were contracted by customers eating at stores after early November. The spokesperson added that “we expected that we may see additional cases”.

Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University’s School of Medicine, says this number of outbreaks tied to a single chain is somewhat unprecedented.

But Chipotle also continued to stress that “we are confident that we can achieve a level of food safety risk that is near zero”. Those points of differentiation have always been marketing strengths for Chipotle, which has sought to distinguish itself as being of higher quality than traditional fast-food chains.

At least 80 students were sickened by norovirus after eating at a Boston area Chipotle outlet, the Boston Health Public Commission had said on December 9. “While these cases are newly reported, they are not really new, but represent a lag in reporting between state health departments and the CDC.” .

Chipotle’s shares slumped as much as 4.6 percent to $498.20 Tuesday in NY. The stock fell as low as 508.10 intraday, which was the lowest since May 2014.