Clearly the company realized a press release wasn’t going to cut it this time, instead sending CEO Steve Ells to face the music on the Today Show.
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“I have to say I’m sorry for the people who got sick, they’re having a tough time and I feel awful about that”, Ells said.
Boston College said Thursday the number of students reportedly showing norovirus symptoms after eating at the Cleveland Circle Chipotle restaurant has risen to 141.
Preliminary tests indicate the culprit is norovirus – not E. coli – the Boston Public Health Commission said.
/ The outbreak of E. coli linked to Chipotle Mexican restaurants has now caused individuals to become ill in nine states since October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Five of those who got infected said that they ate at Chipotle branches.
A team of food safety experts has been reviewing Chipotle’s ingredients management and sourcing.
Some critics have said the food safety concerns raise questions about the fast-growing brand, and shares of the company have fallen from a year-high in August, when the incidents began.
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., based in Denver, has more than 1,900 locations, primarily in the U.S. The company has already warned that sales are expected to fall as much as 11 percent at established locations for the fourth quarter as a result of bad publicity from the E. coli cases. The virus is highly contagious which is spread by poor hygiene, contaminated food and also contact with areas that are already contaminated.
The Chipotle chain has been under fire nationwide in recent months after an E. coli outbreak sickened dozens of people in the Pacific Northwest, with similar incidents in several other states.
Even Chipotle restaurants that weren’t implicated in the outbreak seemed to be facing a fallout Wednesday.
In response to one of its biggest health and public relations challenges in its 22 year history, Chipotle has pledged to sanitize its operations, hired food safety consultants and announced that it would introduce more-stringent testing of its ingredients. The company noted that its local produce program accounts for a “relatively small percentage” of the produce it uses.
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.
These reported illnesses have been tainting the company’s reputation as consumers shy away from eating at Chipotle restaurants.
The outbreak was initially limited to Chipotle locations in Washington and OR, where locations were closed as a precaution during the initial investigation.
“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.
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Chipotle shares were up 4.8% to $574.13, but are still down 21% in the past three months.
