Chipotle reopening Northwest locations this week

The first round of test results did not find E. coli bacteria in food samples taken from several Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants, according to officials at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Chipotle might reopen this week in Kent and the rest of the state.

Chipotle announced in a statement today that it would open all 43 restaurants in the Seattle and Portland, Ore., areas that it had voluntarily closed, which will be restocked with fresh ingredients.

Seattle-King County Public Health confirmed that another E. coli outbreak happened in July that was linked to the Chipotle in Capitol Hill.

Pedestrians walk past a still-closed Chipotle restaurant Monday, …

“The safety of our customers and integrity of our food supply has always been our highest priority”, Chipotle chairman Steve Ells stated. Chipotle restaurants in Minnesota were also connected to a Salmonella alarm during the month of August. The Denver-based company’s shares have slipped 8.1 percent this year.

Washington State Epidemiologist Scott Lindquist says he feels good about Chipotle reopening…

In Washington, five Chipotle restaurants are believed to be associated with the outbreak, including two in Seattle, and units in Vancouver, Kent and Burlington. “Finding the source of the outbreak is often like finding a needle in the haystack”, Modie said. The outbreak hospitalized more than a dozen people.

“The fact that they can’t pinpoint the product, that just makes it more problematic for Chipotle”, attorney Bill Marler said.

So far, no specific food, beverage or flaw in food safety has been identified, officials said, though more test results are expected next week.

Lindquist said, additionally the restaurants chain, Chipotle, must initiate a second produce rinse to their present set of rules and go through inspections by local health officials.

Implementing additional safety procedures, and audits, in all of its 2,000 restaurants to ensure that robust food safety standards are in place.

A few Chipotle fans said they will be there when the doors reopen. There have been no cases of HUS or deaths from this outbreak.

There are things people can do to ward off foodborne illnesses: Wash your hands before making or eating food, avoid undercooked hamburger or raw shellfish, be careful about cross-contamination of raw meat, wash produce thoroughly, and steer clear of unpasteurized milk or juice.

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said that Chipotle’s limited menu may have made it more hard for investigators to detect the source of the outbreak. Washing and sanitizing of fresh produce items will be performed in each restaurant.