Chipotle’s Latest Food Poisoning Outbreak Is Its Worst One Yet

Chipotle has a lengthy history with food poisonings that date all the way back to 2008. Nearly a decade since that first incident, the company’s most recent outbreak is the worst to ever hit the fresh burrito chain.

Since July 26, over 700 cases of reported illnesses have been linked to a single Chipotle location, according to the Dayton Daily News. The store, located in Powell, OH, was closed immediately upon reports of a potential outbreak. They then enabled the chain’s food safety protocol before reopening, which included changing out the food and deep cleaning the entire place.

It’s still unknown what bacteria or pathogen caused the outbreak, and the source of it hasn’t been determined either. What we do know, though, is that no other outbreak connected to Chipotle has poisoned as many customers in a single instant.

The only other food poisoning outburst that came close, was all the way back in 2008, when over 400 customers contracted a strain of norovirus at a location near Kent State University. Coincidentally, that event also took place at a Chipotle restaurant in Ohio, although there’s likely no connection between the two given the time and changes the chain has implemented since then.

Still, an outbreak as massive as the one going on right now does call Chipotle’s new food safety protocol into question. To be fair, this is only the second massive food poisoning to occur since the new changes to their program came in late 2016. Still, more than 700 people getting sick from one single location is quite alarming.

Local health officials are still trying to determine the cause and source of the outbreak, but so far, common candidates like norovirus, Salmonella, and E. Coli have already been ruled out.