Chipotle Installing New Food Safety Protocols From the Ground Up

After being responsible within a six-month window for five outbreaks sickening at least 355 people with various pathogens and viruses — and also closing at least 62 of its restaurants — there’s plenty of interest in Chipotle Mexican Grill’s next move. The company has a lot on its plate right now as it works to win back the confidence of the market, regulators, and a once-loyal cadre of customers. For the food safety community, however, Chipotle management has already gone public with its plans. Based on the epidemiological work, there is little doubt about Chipotle being responsible for any of the outbreaks with which it has recently been associated. The E. coli o26 outbreak is likely some variety of produce, but, as is often the case, finding any leftover evidence of contaminated produce after most, or all, of it has been consumed is a nearly impossible task. Chipotle make the same point on its website, stating, “We serve more than 1 million customers a day in our restaurants, and use thousands of pounds of fresh produce and meat in our restaurants every day. Because of the volume of business our restaurants do, it is likely that the source of the E. coli was already out of our supply chain by the time anyone showed signs of illness.” Chipotle is trying to calm customer’s fears by making these points: Chipotle founder and co-chief executive Steve Ells was on The TODAY Show Dec. 10 to apologize to the outbreak victims. “I have to say I’m sorry for the people that got sick,” he said. “They’re having a tough time. I feel terrible about that, and we’re doing a lot to rectify this and make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Since then, Chipotle stock has dropped another $20 per share. Then again, it has avoided a free-fall level where analysts say it cannot go without risking the company’s future. (To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)