“Yes, we believe it is a norovirus linked to only one restaurant, a sentiment shared by local health officials”, Chipotle officials said in a statement. That image has won it a loyal customer base among health-conscious crowds – especially millennials.
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Chipotle founder and co-CEO Steve Ells says he is “deeply sorry” about the customers who were sickened after eating at the chain in recent weeks.
Chipotle shares fell $8.75, or 1.6 percent, to $543 in afternoon trading Tuesday. The illness has jeopardized Chipotle’s reputation that can hurt the loyalty that it has built over the years for its use of fresh produce and using meats without the antibiotics.
A team of epidemiologists and food-safety experts has investigated the delivery, handling, cooking, and serving of all 64 of Chipotle’s ingredients, and developed better food-safety standards for the chain going forward.
On Wednesday, health officials confirmed that a Chipotle restaurant in the Boston area had been linked to an outbreak of norovirus, a highly infectious though not fatal illness that causes stomach problems.
Even with all the trash talking about Chipotle on Twitter, there were also devoted fans like Penn State football player DaeSean Hamilton who can’t wait for Chipotle to put its food safety issues behind it.
Some critics have said the food safety incidents raise questions about the fast-growing brand, and shares of the company have fallen from their year high in August, when the food safety incidents began. “It could occur during the early stages of getting the food from the farm to the restaurant, it could occur from the workers not using proper hygiene”. On average, analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post $15.65 EPS for the current year.
Moran also said the company would avoid marketing until the CDC has wrapped up its investigation, then run full-page print ads with letters of apology as well as a public information campaign that’s “perhaps more transparent, than any other company has ever been with regard to what happened and what we did”. “Chipotle will want to remain being a popular food establishment, especially for college students, and [update their sanitary guidelines]”.
“You gotta say that. That’s what people want to hear”, he said. All came back negative for E. coli.
Pamela Ponce, 26, said she frequents the lower Manhattan Chipotle restaurant and always orders the burrito bowl. He vowed that extensive new food safety policies are in place, which will help evade outbreaks of such diseases in the future, ensuring customer’s safety first.
“I’ve eaten here before, so I think it’s fine”.
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“They’re basically absent on social media, which is a huge mistake”, she said.
