Five people have been reported ill with E. coli in an outbreak last month linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill, according to officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). None of those sickened, after eating at Chipotle restaurants in Kansas and Oklahoma, was hospitalized and all showed symptoms from Nov. 18, 2015, to Nov. 26, 2015.
This strain of E. coli has a different DNA profile from the previous outbreak of E. coli related to the restaurant chain where 53 people were sickened from Oct. 19, 2015, to Nov. 14, 2015, the CDC says. Officials are still investigating the source of both outbreaks and whether they are at all related.
Chris Arnold, a spokesman for the Denver-based fast-casual restaurant chain, said new safety measures were already being implemented and new food safety programs were being used to ensure customer’s safety.
“We have indicated before that we expected that we may see additional cases stemming from this, and CDC is now reporting some additional cases,” Arnold told ABC News today via email. “Since this issue began, we have completed a comprehensive reassessment of our food safety programs with an eye to finding best practices for each of the ingredients we use.”
The restaurant is now implementing “high-resolution testing of ingredients, end of shelf-life testing of ingredients, continuous improvement in the supply system based on testing data, and enhanced food safety training,” Arnold said.
“With all of these programs in place, we are confident that we can achieve a level of food safety risk that is near zero.”
The company has had to deal with multiple outbreaks this year: the previous E. coli outbreak and two norovirus outbreaks that infected hundreds of people at two different locations.
The company uses just 68 ingredients total, founder and Chairman Steve Ells has said, including tomatoes and corn in the salsa and lettuce that are used raw. Experts say various parts of the Chipotle food supply will be under scrutiny, including where its fresh produce originates and how employees prepare food, as officials attempt to find the source of the outbreak.