Chipolte Struggles to Stop Food-Borne Illnesses, Win Back Customers
Chipotle Mexican Grill responded quickly when four of its workers called in sick last week with suspected cases of norovirus. The Boston-area restaurant was shuttered for cleaning, and no customers got ill. The company’s management considers that a successful outcome — a sign its updated health protocols are working. But customers, still wary of the chain after a string of outbreaks, didn’t see it that way. Headlines about the...
BC Students Sick After Dining Out
Boston — Boston College said Tuesday the number of students complaining of gastrointestinal symptoms after eating at a Chipotle this weekend has climbed to 80, up from the 30 it reported the previous day. The illnesses prompted the temporary closure of a Chipotle restaurant in Boston where the students ate, and come as the chain’s sales already are being slammed by a multistate outbreak of E. coli linked to its restaurants. Chipotle...
Foodborne Illness Is More Common Than We Realize
Seattle — Foodborne illnesses like the E. coli outbreak linked to Chipotle restaurants in the Northwest are more common than the public realizes, experts say, with most instances never making the news. About 48 million cases of foodborne disease occur in the U.S. annually, sending about 105,000 people to the hospital and resulting in 2,000 deaths, according to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s...
Consumer Confidential: Why Is a Nonprofit Shill for Business Interests Attacking Chipotle?
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that if you’re being pushed around by a bully, “walk away and stay away. Don’t fight back.” Chipotle has taken that message to heart. Chris Arnold, a spokesman for the burrito chain, told me Chipotle has no plans to tangle with a food-industry front group that has run a series of ads critical of the company’s health claims. “This is a smear campaign,” he said. “But we’ve chosen to...
Chains Seek Millennials’ Love
Dallas — They’re adding exotic sauces and electrical outlets, donning Twitter handles and serving shareable plates. Restaurateurs have gone a-courtin’. The target that chains across the spectrum are wooing? Millennials, the 83.1 million Americans born between 1982 and 2000 who now represent the largest single age group in the U.S. While some studies show this demographic (also described as 18- to 34-year-olds) dramatically cut back on...
