Ells comments come one day after local health officials reported that 80 people had been sickened by norovirus linked to a Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (CMG.N) restaurant in Boston in the latest wave of patrons who have fallen ill on the heels of another outbreak in the Northwestern United States.
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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”.
“It was clear that Chipotle, who preaches the concept of “food with integrity” and hygienic food, can not go wrong in their own game”, said the note.
In Brookline this year, inspection of the Chipotle on Commonwealth Avenue found a serious violation – failure to have a manager certified in food safety – which was not resolved until recently, said Alan Balsam, town director of public health and human services.
Ells said that the E. coli outbreak has forced the company to review how its ingredients are being handled. However, the company has assured it will be able to get back on its feet, with several analysts anticipating price hikes next year to compensate for rising expenses incurred over E. Coli. An additional 12 who did not eat at Chipotle reported similar symptoms.
Public health officials mentioned earlier this week that non-students were also sickened by the norovirus; however, the number of ill non-students is unclear.
“It is good to see what Chipotle is doing now by hiring consultants and by doing more tests but I guarantee that they’re feeling that they should’ve done this many years ago instead of doing this now when their stock price is down 30%”, he says. Cowen and Company downgraded shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $775.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday. “I hope that Chipotle will have stricter and safer guidelines”.
Ells said it’s a “really tough time” for Chipotle. The symptoms of the norovirus includes vomiting, nausea, malaise, muscle pain, diarrhea and also incubation can occur within two to eight days.
But others said the company’s progressive reputation offset any worry about food illness.
“What we’ve done is a reassessment of all of the practices from farm to restaurant for each ingredient that we use”, said Arnold. “I’m sure the cases have hurt Chipotle a lot and I’m sure they don’t want to lose customers, so I’m sure that they’re going to try to improve the quality of the food to make sure that this doesn’t happen again”.
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In August, more than 100 customers in Simi Valley, Calif., got sick with a norovirus after eating at the Chipotle at 1555 Simi Town Center Way.
