Boston College says 80 students report symptoms after eating at Chipotle

According to a report from the Boston Inspectional Services department, which is responsible for inspecting the city’s restaurants, an employee at the Chipotle restaurant in Cleveland Circle was sick while working a shift Thursday.

Chipotle said late Monday that it closed the restaurant after several students at Boston College, including members of the men s basketball team, reported gastrointestinal symptoms after eating at the chain.

Sports Illustrated says eight members of the BC men’s basketball team are “sick with E. coli” after dining at the Chipotle at 1924 Beacon Street in Brighton, in a statement confirmed by the college. Prior to the Boston College incident, 52 people in nine states fell ill to E. coli, with 47 of them claiming they ate at the Mexican restaurant chain before becoming sick.

NEW YORK (AP) – Chipotle’s stock edged lower in midday trading Tuesday as the Mexican food chain continues to deal with fallout from an E. coli outbreak and contends with weakening sales.

A spokesman for the state agency says more than 20 students were sickened, but officials have not determined the cause.

Chipotle stated that there is still no evidence that this case is related to the previous E. Coli case.

Chipotle Mexican Grill has reopened its restaurants in Washington and OR that had been closed in response to the investigation. Seattle, Portland and OR were the first three places, where the Chipotle outbreak was first reported and gradually, it spread to other states leading to the temporary closure of all 43 of restaurants of Chipotle.

Moreover, Bloomberg reported that on Monday afternoon, the school sent out a notice addressing its students about the illnesses and the “common denominator of all affected students having eaten at the local Chipotle restaurant”, reports Jack Dunn, school’s spokesperson. Shares have fallen for the company, and sales are expected to have gone down since the first cases appeared in late October. The stock is down almost 25 percent in the quarter to date. Each year, it causes 19 to 21 million illnesses. The company also hired food safety consulting firms to improve its already high standards for food safety.

Chipotle has started to implement new “enhanced food safety program”, wherein DNA tests are done on fresh produce before it’s shipped to stores.