Chipotle CEO Makes Public Apology to Sick Customers

Ells said new testing and food safety practices are now being implemented that will put the chain “10 to 15 years ahead of industry norms”.

Chipotle’s reputation has been battered in recent weeks by the E. coli outbreak, which afflicted at least 52 people in nine states.

The virus can spread from an infected person, contaminated food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces, the agency says. The company also is improving internal training to ensure that all employees are able to maintain food safety standards.

In addition, the Denver headquartered restaurant chain partnered with Seattle-based IEH Laboratories and Consulting Group, a preeminent food safety testing and consulting company in an effort to make the food served at Chipotle as safe as possible.

Chipotle Communications Director Chris Arnold told Patch Monday night that there is “no evidence to suggest this is E.coli” in Boston, and referred to another company statement.

Late Thursday, public health officials said they shut down a Chipotle restaurant in Seattle after “repeated food safety violations” found in three consecutive inspections.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Chipotle said sales have been “extremely volatile” since it temporarily closed restaurants in OR and Washington in early November as a result of the outbreak. Several Boston College students who contracted norovirus at a local Chipotle last weekend also retained him.

Two sisters visiting the city from Mexico, Annie and Mariana Lopez, said they had heard about Chipotle’s food safety issues but are used enough to taking chances on bacteria in their home country to enjoy their burritos without fear. Based on data from the Center for Disease Control, it appears that from 2009 to 2014, less than 3 percent of norovirus outbreaks sickened 80 or more people, and only 1.3 percent sickened 140 people or more.

After forcing the Chipotle to close this week, Seattle officials acknowledged that the location didn’t have as many violations as the typical restaurant it shuts down.

“We’ll probably see when somebody sneezes, ‘It’s E. coli from Chipotle, ‘ for some time”, Chipotle co-CEO Monty Moran said at the conference, according to Food Business News. The company had just reopened that restaurant after closing it over the E. coli outbreak. I feel bad about that.

The symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and some stomach cramping.

Upon investigations, the campus health officials found that all the students who reported sick had eaten food from the same Chipotle outlet.

In July, a smaller E. coli outbreak occurred in Washington, sickening five people.