Chipotle is now under siege from a nationwide E. coli outbreak that they have been unable to find the source of or halt, which is sending the company’s stock price tumbling.
Boston College said Tuesday that 80 students fell ill after eating at a Chipotle this weekend, but the state Department of Consumer Protection said no incidents or complaints involving the Mexican food chain have been reported in CT.
If you’re not in the Boston area and your local Chipotle hasn’t been shut down for E. coli purposes, there’s no need to fear those burrito bowl leftovers in your fridge. “Test results will not be available for at least two days”.
“The pattern here looks like norovirus isolated to one restaurant”, Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold told Reuters.
Steve Ells, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle, said in the release that the company is working, “harder than ever to ensure that our food is safe and delicious”. It has raised concerns about potential reputational damage to the fast-growing brand that has won a loyal following for its food made with fresh produce, meats raised without antibiotics and ingredients that are free of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
“We can not confirm a cause of the illness at this time, but we are coordinating with Boston public health officials to determine a cause”, Zoback said.
According to the release from Chipotle, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports about 48 million cases of food-related illness in the USA annually.
Norovirus can persist in an environment for up to six weeks, said Benjamin Chapman, a food safety specialist at North Carolina State University.
The Tulsa Health Department said they are in close contact with the Oklahoma State Health Department monitoring cases.
The company – whose shares edged lower on Tuesday amid the news – said it believed the latest illnesses may be the result of the highly contagious norovirus.
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