(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson). Pedestrians walk past a still-closed Chipotle restaurant Monday, November 9, 2015, in Seattle.
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Every Chipotle in the state will dispose of all food items, sanitize each facility, and bring in all new foods before reopening.
But this isn’t Chipotle’s first issue…
The chain faced a salmonella outbreak linked to tomatoes that sickened dozens of people in Minnesota beginning in August.
However, Chipotle is not entirely in the clear yet. They will follow the same criteria for reopening as the Washington locations, according to OR health officials. While the investigation about the E. Coli outbreak hasn’t reached any definitive conclusions yet, it could clearly have negative implications for the company in terms of sales and reputation.
Seattle attorney Bill Marler, who has filed two lawsuits on behalf of people who have gotten sick in this outbreak, said that just because health department officials haven’t found the cause of the outbreak doesn’t mean they aren’t still blaming Chipotle for making people sick. A series of sterilizations and tests were done, as well as a replacement of all ingredients at the sites, the NY Times reported.
“The safety of our customers and integrity of our food supply has always been our highest priority”, he said in a statement.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the same strain of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O26 with the same DNA fingerprint infected 23 of those sickened.
The most recent reported date that a meal was served that may be linked with this incident is October 24. Typically, contaminated food is in a single batch that was consumed, or potentially contaminated surfaces get sanitized prior to being swabbed.
“We have also retained two of the nation’s best food-safety scientists to work with us to assess practices and find additional areas for improvement”, Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold said. County food safety inspectors in both states will be checking that each individual store has adhered to these mandates before reopening, and each location must pass a health department inspection.
Health officials have yet to identify the specific cause of the outbreak.
Chipotle opened with a single restaurant in 1993 and now operates more than 1,900 restaurants, including 22 Chipotle restaurants outside the United States. For example, a vegetable may test negative still have bacteria that could potentially sicken someone. The restaurants are opening in the coming days with a fresh supply of all new ingredients.
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Chipotle Chairman Steve Ells apologized to those affected by the outbreak.
