Preliminary tests indicate the culprit is norovirus – not E. coli – the Boston Public Health Commission said.
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Chipotle has closed the restaurant near Boston College while the investigation continues.
Given this latest trouble coupled with the likelihood that the spread of E. coli goes well beyond nine states, there is a very good chance that Chipotle’s operating performance will be even worse than feared. Boston health officials confirmed the presence of norovirus at the Cleveland Circle location on Tuesday. 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”. That makes the company more vulnerable to outbreaks, and puts more of the onus for food safety on the managers of the company’s 1,700 restaurants.
An outbreak of sickness linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. has now afflicted more than 120 Boston College students, with local public health officials pointing to norovirus as the cause.
Ells began this morning’s tough interview with Matt Lauer by apologizing to his customers, saying, “I’m sorry for the people who got sick”.
Regarding the outbreak linked to E. coli, Ells said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has still not found an exact source for the bacteria, which can cause severe diarrhea and vomiting. However, the analyst noted that once the CDC gives the “all clear”, the company should benefit from “significant traffic driving initiatives”.
The restaurant known for its healthier re-imagination of Mexican fast food is scrambling to improve sanitation and safety requirements in the face of its now-serial connection with food-borne illness.
“The procedures we’re putting in place to eat are so above industry norms that we are going to be the safest place to eat, ” Ells told Matt Lauer Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company.
Chipotle has struggled to cope with the outbreaks Scott Eisen/Getty Images A sign shows a closed Chipotle location in Boston on December 8.
Edwards said the reason restaurants and cruise ships are classically affected by the virus is because it is where people are grouped together and can be exposed. Much of the restaurant’s menu includes items with fresh produce, and health authorities are quick to blame vegetables whenever an outbreak like this occurs.
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“I was asked to design a more robust food safety program to ensure the highest level of safety and the best quality of all meals served at Chipotle”, said Mansour Samadpour, Ph.D., CEO of IEH Laboratories and Consulting Group.
