CDC: Three Oklahomans sick with E.coli, possibly linked to Chipotle

Earlier this month, Chipotle also closed a restaurant in Boston after dozens of students at Boston College, including members of the men’s basketball team, reported gastrointestinal symptoms.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it is investigating the more recent outbreak of a rare strain of E.coli linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.

The CDC said the last person to get sick was on November 3. All five individuals reported eating at the burrito chain the week before illness started.

“We believe they are related, and are working with the CDC and FDA while they investigate, ” Arnold said. The agency warns it could take some time before singling what food contains the toxic E.coli strain.

“Chipotle is still a popular restaurant chain”, said Newman.

The CDC said Monday three people ate at an Oklahoma location and one each in Kansas and North Dakota locations.

On Monday the Journal-World contacted managers at the three Chipotle restaurants in Lawrence, and all said they had not had any reports of customers getting sick from eating E. coli-contaminated food.

“Because it is not known if these infections are related to the larger, previously reported outbreak, these illnesses are not being included in the case count for that outbreak”.

Chipotle’s stock price dipped below $500 on Tuesday for the first time in at least a year, to $498.48 in midday trading. Analyst John Ivankoe wrote in a note, “At this point, even rational and informed consumers could potentially be given reason to pause when choosing Chipotle over the plethora of fast casual competition in the marketplace”.

As the E. coli cases linked to Chipotle increase, so do the company’s stock troubles.

Investors, and presumably diners, are spooked by the continued health issues that have seriously dented Chipotle’s wholesome image amongst its fast(ish) food competitors; the company’s stock price is down 30 percent from its August high of $757.77.

He lowered his projections, saying Chipotle’s same-store sales for the quarter will fall 12 percent, a deeper slide than the 9.5-percent decline he had predicted earlier in the month. “With all of these programs in place, we are confident that we can achieve a level of food safety risk that is near zero”. “While these cases are newly reported, they are not really new, but represent a lag in reporting between state health departments and the CDC.” .