Chipotle E. Coli Outbreak Spreads to California, NY and Ohio

The outbreak of E. Coli bacteria associated with the Chipoltle restaurant chain has snow spread to six states including Ohio. However another round of lab tests connects additional illnesses in California, New York, OH and Minnesota with the outbreak, despite having excluded the latter state from the list as recent as last week, the CDC reports. Investigations are ongoing by state and federal agencies, but OR public health officials reported in early November that they believe fresh produce was the most likely cause of the illnesses. There have been no deaths.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the E. coli outbreak expanded with the recent E. coli cases reported in California, Ohio, NY and Minnesota. The restaurants since have reopened, and the company said Friday that all its restaurants remain open.

“In Chipotle’s case, there are a lot of answers that need to be found”, Daren Detwiler, who works at Stop Foodborne Illness and is also an adjunct professor at Northeastern University in Boston, previously told the worldwide Business Times.

Health officials reported new cases of E. coli infections linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant have now reached six states throughout the United States.

AKRON, OH – An Akron Chipotle patron reportedly came down with the same strain of E. coli that affected customers in the Pacific Northwest in October, the company says.

Chipotle E.coli outbreak was first detected in Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon, due to which it had closed all 43 of its restaurants in these locations on October 31. A total of 16 people have been hospitalized as a result; no one has died.

People carry bags as they leave a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in San Francisco on July 21. The CDC cautioned the number of people sickened by the outbreak could increase because there could be cases that have yet to be reported or confirmed. More than 40 people have fallen ill, according to Reuters. It also hired safety consultants, sanitized the restaurants and threw out unused food. Shares fell 12.3 percent to $536.19 on Friday, marking an 18-month low for the chain.

“We offer our sincerest apologies to those who have been affected”, said Chipotle chairman and co-CEO Steve Ells. Following this incident, the corporation has taken aggressive steps to make sure its restaurants are as save as possible.