Chipotle is subpoenaed in criminal probe tied to norovirus in California

Chipotle, that oh-so-tasty fast-food chain, is getting eyed by a California U.S. Attorney’s office for an August Norovirus outbreak. It requires Chipotle to hand over several documents related to the Simi Valley restaurant where about 100 people were sickened by the norovirus in August.

Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold said Chipotle intends to fully cooperate with the investigation, but declined to go into detail citing the company’s policy about pending litigation.

“When foodborne illness outbreaks occur, the FDA works closely with other federal and state agencies and other health officials to identify the source, ensure that companies are removing affected foods from the marketplace, and communicate with the public”, the FDA said in a statement to ABC News today.

“This was crystal clear because of the large number of employees reporting an illness, which should have told the company that something was terribly wrong”, said Shawn Stevens, a food safety lawyer and founder of Food Industry Counsel, LLC.

A passerby walks past a Chipotle restaurant in Seattle in November that closed following one of two E.coli outbreaks that sickened scores of people.

The company predicted a 14.6 percent drop in sales in the last quarter of 2015, saying that between $14 million and $16 million will be spent in response to the various contamination issues.

The same month, almost a quarter of Americans who were aware of the E. coli cases said they were eating Chipotle less often, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found. (1.usa.gov/1JtQlLV) A Justice Department official declined to comment on the Chipotle investigation.

Norovirus was also at the center of an episode in which about 120 Boston College students were taken ill in December after eating at a Chipotle restaurant near the campus.

It said the investigation does not involve a more recent E. coli outbreak tied to its restaurants that sickened people in nine states, or a separate norovirus outbreak in Boston.

A representative for the U.S. Attorney’s office declined to comment. They were down 30 percent for the full month of December, Chipotle said. It had to close some restaurants due to the outbreaks.

“So I am at somewhat of a loss as to why they would investigate this particular restaurant”, said Marler, who has filed two federal lawsuits against Chipotle over the illnesses.

Chipotle also is making more share buybacks as it tries to placate investors.

“It’s very rare to see a federal investigation into a single restaurant”, the food-poisoning specialist said.