--- description: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has closed its investigation into two E. coli outbreaks linked to Chipotle. title: Chipotle's E. coli Outbreak Stumped U.S. Health Investigators image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Public Health](/tag/public-health/) ## Public Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Chipotle's E. coli Outbreak Stumped U.S. Health Investigators  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 1, 2016 5:45 PM CUT  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 1, 2016 5:45 PM CUT 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 "undefined") linked to Chipotle after health officials could not determine a cause. [Both outbreaks in several states](http://time.com/4157690/chipotle-ecoli-outbreak-cdc/ "undefined") “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/ "undefined"), 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. However, officials could not pinpoint what could have caused the outbreaks. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4202720/chipotle-e-coli-outbreak-cdc/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4202720/chipotle-e-coli-outbreak-cdc/"},"headline":"Chipotle's E. coli Outbreak Stumped U.S. Health Investigators","datePublished":"2016-02-01T17:45:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T09:10:29.730Z","description":"But the outbreaks are over and the investigation is closed","url":"https://time.com/4202720/chipotle-e-coli-outbreak-cdc/","keywords":["Public Health"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4202720/chipotle-e-coli-outbreak-cdc/","name":"Chipotle's E. coli Outbreak Stumped U.S. Health Investigators"}}]}] ```