--- title: Chipotle E. Coli Outbreak Probe Closed by CDC description: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has closed its investigation into two E. coli outbreaks linked to Chipotle. canonical: https://time.com/4202720/chipotle-e-coli-outbreak-cdc/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-01T17:45:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T09:10:29.730Z article:section: Health og:title: Chipotle's E. coli Outbreak Stumped U.S. Health Investigators og:description: But the outbreaks are over and the investigation is closed og:url: https://time.com/4202720/chipotle-e-coli-outbreak-cdc/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Chipotle's E. coli Outbreak Stumped U.S. Health Investigators twitter:description: But the outbreaks are over and the investigation is closed twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Chipotle's E. coli Outbreak Stumped U.S. Health Investigators > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=82d8c999-a1df-4881-b91a-039afe84fef6&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1)  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Feb 1, 2016 5:45 PM UTC  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Feb 1, 2016 5:45 PM UTC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has [closed its investigation into two E. coli outbreaks](http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2015/O26-11-15/index.html) linked to Chipotle after health officials could not determine a cause. [Both outbreaks in several states](http://time.com/4157690/chipotle-ecoli-outbreak-cdc/) “appear to be over,” after the most recent illness was reported on Dec. 1, 2015, the CDC said Monday. Investigators were unable to identify a food or ingredient linked to the illness, health officials said. Fifty-five people from 11 states were infected with E. coli in the [first outbreak](http://time.com/4136670/chipotle-food-safety-e-coli-outbreak/), officials said. Five others from Kansas, North Dakota and Oklahoma were later infected with a different strain. There were no reported deaths. Most of the people who fell ill ate many of the same food items at the Mexican Grill restaurant, the CDC said. 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