Coverage: Chipotle linked to more E.coli cases

Trouble stays on the menu for Chipotle Mexican Grill after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a new investigation a rare type of E.coli linked to the popular franchise.

The announcement not long after the company’s CEO apologized on national television for the chain’s recent food safety struggles.

Yashaswini Swamynathan of Reuters had the day’s news:

Federal authorities are investigating a new E.coli strain linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc, piling more pressure on the popular burrito chain already grappling with an outbreak that has affected about 50 people in nine states.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday it is investigating five new cases of a “different, rare DNA fingerprint” of the Shiga toxin E.coli O26.

The federal agency said it is unclear whether the latest cases are related to the outbreak that started in October.

The company’s shares, which touched a 17-month low in regular trading, were down 0.2 percent in extended trading.

Of the five new cases reported, one each are from Kansas and North Dakota and three from Oklahoma, the CDC said.

The illnesses started between Nov. 18 and Nov. 26, and all five patients reported eating at Chipotle outlets in the week before falling sick, the CDC said.

Phil Wahba of Fortune described the company’s response to the latest outbreak:

“We have indicated before that we expected that we may see additional cases stemming from this,” Chipotle spokesperson Chris Arnold, said in an email to Fortune.

Chipotle has finished a complete reassessment of its food safety program and is implementing changes as a result, Arnold said. Those efforts include 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 for all restaurant workers.

“With all of these programs in place, we are confident that we can achieve a level of food safety risk that is near zero,” Arnold wrote.

Stephanie Strom of The New York Times explained how the company has been struggling with its food safety in recent weeks:

The latest infection is the fifth linked to Chipotle since August, when more than 200 people were infected with norovirus after eating at one of its restaurants in Simi Valley, Calif., according to Food Safety News.

The same month, more than 60 people got sick with salmonella poisoning after eating in one of 22 Chipotle restaurants in Minnesota. Then in October, the first cases of E. coli poisoning began to surface in the Pacific Northwest.

All told, almost 500 people have been sickened after eating in a Chipotle in the last half of this year, according to Food Safety News.

Earlier this month, Steve Ells, Chipotle’s founder and chief executive, went on the “Today” show to apologize to the people who became sick most recently. “I’m sorry for the people who got sick. They’re having a tough time and I feel terrible about that,” Mr. Ells said in an interview.

Arun K. Jain, a professor of marketing research at the University at Buffalo, compared Chipotle’s woes to those of Volkswagen, which is grappling with a scandal over its manipulation of emissions devices in some 11 million of its diesel cars.

“It’s death by a thousand cuts,” Mr. Jain said. “One day after another day, you keep getting this negative news, and it begins to really damage brand equity.”

He said the latest outbreak could be particularly bruising to Chipotle because the company has been promoting its new food safety programs.