Kansas case included in new E. coli outbreak linked to Chipotle

According to a news release, Chipotle confirmed that three people sickened in Oklahoma ate at 765 Asp Ave.in Norman.

Chris Arnold, Chipotle communications director, said that they have already indicated that they may see additional cases from the new outbreak.

Reports of new illnesses linked to the October outbreak have “slowed substantially”, the CDC said.

However, TheStreet’s Jim Cramer, Portfolio Manager of the Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio remains optimistic, saying: “The recent reports of outbreaks all came before the institutionalization of nationwide health standards that are the most strict of all restaurants”.

Chipotle has been under scrutiny since November, when health officials first linked it to an E. coli outbreak, the company’s third food safety incident since August. Of those five cases, all five reported eating at Chipotle before falling ill. Dr. Ian Williams, chief of the CDC’s Outbreak Response & Prevention Branch, believes that this fact, as well as the geographic distance and time difference, could point to a completely new, unrelated outbreak.

According to the CDC, evidence suggests that rotisserie chicken salad made and sold in Costo Wholesale stores in several states was the likely source of the outbreak. SunTrust reissued a “buy” rating and set a $750.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Monday, November 23rd.

“We are in the process of implementing reassessed programs including high-resolution testing of ingredients”, Chipotle said in an emailed statement on Monday. “Again, given the lag between when the illness is contracted and when the symptoms arise, and how quickly they turn over their produce, it may be impossible to actually link it to a specific item”.

As of December 18, the CDC had reported 53 people in nine states infected as part of the earlier outbreak of STEC 026, a common type of E. coli that causes foodborne outbreaks. “With all of these programs in place, we are confident that we can achieve a level of food safety risk that is near zero”. It has also carried out additional food-safety training for employees.

“It’s a really tough time, ” Ells said. To help in the endeavor, the company is working with outside food safety experts, including Mansour Samadpour, CEO of IEH Laboratories and Consulting Group.