CDC Reports Chipotle E.Coli Outbreak Over

The CDC announced that Chipotle Mexican Grill’s E. coli outbreak is over, reported CNBC.

Two separate outbreaks of the bacteria were investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service and public health officials in several states.

In the first outbreak, 55 people were infected by the foodborne illness in 11 states, of which 21 were hospitalized. The second, smaller outbreak, infected five people from three states, of which one was hospitalized. No restaurants in Florida were a part of the outbreak.

The CDC determined that 57 percent of people affected by the first outbreak and 80 percent of people affected by the second outbreak were female.

There were no reports of hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can lead to kidney failure, and no deaths in either outbreak.

Chipotle stock was up 4 percent on the news.

“We are pleased that the CDC has concluded its investigation, and we have offered our full cooperation throughout,” Chris Arnold, a spokesman for Chipotle, said in a statement. “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.”

Investigators were not able to identify the ingredient that was responsible for the contamination.

The fast casual chain will be briefly closing all its stores on Feb. 8th.”We are hosting a national team meeting to thank our employees for their hard work through this difficult time, discuss some of the food safety changes we are implementing, and answer questions from employees,” Arnold said.

The company’s sales plunged 30 percent in December, following at least six outbreaks tied to Chipotle in the last year, including norovirus, E. coli and salmonella.

Chipotle has one location in Apopka at 2201 E Semoran Blvd. There are a total of 20 locations in Central Florida.