After an E. coli outbreak which was traced back to the Chipotle chain in Washington and Oregon, the company is being sued for £75,000 with claims of negligence.
Chipotle has closed all of its stores in Washington and Oregon, and also hired two food safety consulting firms to hopefully prevent future incidents. The fast-casual Mexican joint says that these firms, which includes Seattle-based IEH Laboratories and Consulting Group, will improve upon the company's already high standards for food safety.
The chain has been harshly criticized for its seemingly lax practices. "Having three problems in a couple of months means that Chipotle is not paying attention to food safety like it should." Bill Marler, a Seattle food safety lawyer.
In an effort to further prove its case, Chipotle explains that it is "moving aggressively" to address these food safety issues, including conducting environment tests in restaurants, food tests in both restaurants and distribution centres, and bringing in health department officials to conduct additional third-party tests.
"The safety of our customers and integrity of our food supply has always been our highest priority." Steve Ells, co-CEO of Chipotle, wrote in an official company release. "We work with a number of very fresh ingredients in order to serve our customers the highest-quality, best-tasting food we can. If there are opportunities to do better, we will push ourselves to find them and enhance our already high standards for food safety. Our deepest sympathies go out to those who have been affected by this situation and it is our greatest priority to ensure the safety of all of the food we serve and maintain our customers' confidence in eating at Chipotle."
