Israel condemned the measure as unfair and discriminatory, but it appeared helpless to stop its growing isolation over the settlement issue and its treatment of Palestinians.
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At least 15 people in OR and 27 in Washington state became ill after eating at Chipotle restaurants, according to health officials in the two states.
“Food outbreak investigations do not always identify a specific food source” the Washington Department of Health said in a statement.
In response to the latest outbreak, Chipotle announced several new efforts to improve food safety, including testing of fresh produce, raw meat and dairy items before they arrive in its restaurants.
However, a recent scare with E. Coli has hurt the company’s image, even if it has claimed that Chipotle food safety standards are high along with the reopening of 43 potentially affected West Coast restaurants. In the time since, Chipotle said it had received more than 900 test results, all of which have come back negative.
The restaurant chain was allowed to reopen its Northwest outlets after completing a thorough cleaning, replacing all the fresh food and adopting a few new protocols for washing fresh produce.
The Oregon Health Authority had advised Chipotle to throw out all of the food at its restaurants in the state and sanitize each facility before reopening the restaurants.
“I was very anxious to get back”, Black said outside a Seattle Chipotle.
Health officials say they haven’t determined a cause of the outbreak that started last month.
Customers that were stricken with E. coli only ate at 11 of the locations, but the company voluntarily shuttered all of its restaurants in the region. “If there are any opportunities for us to do better in any facet of our sourcing or food handling – from the farms to our restaurants – we will find them”. Just because a company says it’s serving you the best, healthiest, safest food around doesn’t mean you should shove it into your mouth immediately.
He noted that the restaurant had a steady stream of customers but not the lines he usually sees at lunchtime on a weekday.
Harrison Walter, 28, said he chose to eat at Chipotle on Wednesday because his enjoyment of the food was greater than his fear of getting sick.
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“I have no doubt in mind that the civil justice system does change behavior”, said Ryan Osterholm, a lawyer for Pirtzer Olsen in Minneapolis, which has filed lawsuits against Chipotle in the current case and a previous case in Minnesota.
