On Thursday, Chipotle founder and co-CEO Steve Ells said he is “deeply sorry” about the customers who were sickened after eating at the chain in recent weeks. The college’s medical staff sent out an email to the campus alerting students and faculty that “numerous people on campus caught E.coli from the Chipotle restaurant in Cleveland Circle”.
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The Chipotle near Boston College was voluntarily closed by the company. He went on to say that once the implementation of the new food safety practices is complete, the restaurant chain will be 10-15 years ahead of the standards set by the restaurant sector.
“Norovirus is usually transmitted from the feces to the mouth, either by drinking contaminated food or water or by passing from person to person”, according to Foodborne Illness.
Both Chipotle and Wall Street analysts have been trying to assess how many people will stay away – and for how long.
The norovirus was responsible for the illnesses, authorities said.
He also says that Chipotle, which is thoroughly investigating its food safety and has been unable to trace the cause of the E. coli, will be “the safest place to eat at”.
He made apologetic comments a day after local health officials pointed out that 80 people have become sickened due to the norovirus that is linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. restaurant located in Boston. (NYSE:CMG): The mean estimate for the short term price target for Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.
Smacked by the E. Coli mayhem, the stock had plummeted by 12.86% over the past one month after the disease outbreak left 50 individuals impacted. The apology will sound empty if one month from now, another E. coli or norovirus outbreak occurs, he added. “We’re doing a lot to rectify this and make sure it doesn’t happen again”, Ells told Matt Lauer. The company has noted the exposure period for the outbreak appears to have passed.
Health officials reportedly cited Chipotle on two violations at the restaurant: meat wasn’t being held at proper temperatures and an employee came to work when sick, contrary to company policy. “The outbreak is also a reminder that we need to ensure that resources are not diverted away from health departments, as they fulfill a critical job in keeping us all safe and healthy”.
“While it is never possible to completely eliminate all risk, this program eliminates or mitigates risk to a level near zero, and will establish Chipotle as the industry leader in this area”, said Mansour Samadpour, who was hired by Chipotle to advise the company on safety procedures.
Asked whether the company could recover financially, Ells said “certainly”.
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Now Chipotle faces the challenge of demonstrating to the world whether its new model for fast food can include food safety as a priority as the company moves beyond the 2,000-unit mark.
