Chipotle E. Coli Outbreak Over, CDC says, But Cause Remains a Mystery

An outbreak of E. coli that sickened customers at Chipotle stores across the country is over, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. Sixty cases were diagnosed in 14 states, including Illinois, with 22 hospitalizations.

The CDC said in a press release Monday that many of the affected customers ate “many of the same food items,” but because many ingredients are cooked together and served in several different food items, the investigation could not link E. coli back to a specific item.

“We are pleased that the CDC has concluded its investigation, and we have offered our full cooperation throughout,” Chiptole spokesman Chris Arnold said in an emailed statement to Patch.

“Over the past few months we have taken significant steps to improve the safety of all of the food we serve, and we are confident that the changes we have made mean that every item on our menu is delicious and safe.”

The Illinois Department of Public Health investigated the Illinois case, reported in December, but released little information and would not divulge a location. The health departments in Cook County and the City of Chicago reported no complaints.

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The national burrito chain has been rocked this fall and winter — and stock prices were sent tumbling — by outbreaks of E. coli and norovirus that have sickened hundreds nationwide.

One of Chipotle’s California stores faces a criminal investigation in connection with an August norovirus outbreak. A December outbreak in Boston caused more than 140 people to fall ill.

On Monday, after the CDC announcement, the stock price rose 5 percent.

All U.S. Chipotle stores were scheduled to be closed for lunch next Monday, Feb. 8, for a companywide meeting about food safety and to answer employee questions.

The CDC’s investigation covered two separate outbreaks of E. coli. A larger one sickened 55 people in 11 states beginning on October 19, the CDC said. A smaller outbreak began in December 2015 that affected five people in three states, the CDC said.

Health officials interviewed people who got sick and people who didn’t but couldn’t find a specific food or ingredient responsible for the sickness.

The CDC was not investigating the norovirus outbreak, a spokesperson told Patch.

In January, Chipotle was sued for allegedly misleading investors about its food safety controls. According to a civil lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Chipotle failed to disclose that its “quality controls were inadequate to safeguard consumer and employee health.”