They said farewell to GMOs, but not to E. coli.
Chipotle Mexican Grill faced the recent outbreak of the bacterial foodborne illness Escherichia coli, or E. coli, in restaurants nationwide for the past two months. Originating in California and Oregon, the pandemic has reached Washington State, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and now Maryland.
Over 50 people have been infected with the illness from Chipotle, and 20 have been hospitalized, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. One of those customers ate at a Maryland location.
The outbreak has begun to harm the restaurant’s profits: Chipotle sales are expected to decrease by 10 percent this quarter. Stock shares have plummeted by nearly 25 percent in the last two months, U.S. News reported.
The slew of food scares garnered attention from Chipotle CEO Steve Ellis.
“We’re doing a lot to rectify this and make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Ellis said in an interview with TODAY. “The procedures we’re putting in place to eat are so above industry norms that we are going to be the safest place to eat.”
Although the company hasn’t yet identified the specific ingredient causing the illness, they are taking preventive measures. Junior Devin Pierce, an employee at the Friendship Heights location, must now read and sign a company safety worker guidelines and expectations sheet each shift she works. In addition to employees washing their hands every hour, they also replenish their sanitizer bucket, which contains cleaning liquids for tabletops and counters. She believes the company is handling the situation properly, she said.
“I would not do anything differently.” Pierce said. “And I haven’t noticed a change in the amount of customers.”
Senior Dani Nahabedian’s favorite lunch spot was Chipotle, but she refuses to return to the Bethesda restaurant after the outbreak, she said.
However, the controversy doesn’t faze sophomore Ray Crist. The incident has been blown out of proportion, he explained, and he has no plans to stop eating there.
“E. coli outbreaks have been happening in the US for a long time, so it isn’t necessarily Chipotle’s fault that this is occurring,” Crist said. “They’re taking an excess of caution to keep more consumers from getting E. coli, and this accident in no way affects my view of the brand.”
