The Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant at 212 Westlake Avenue North in Seattle, Washington was closed on Thursday, December 10, 2015 for repeated food safety violations, according to a report on Seattle & King County Public Health. The restaurant had three red violations in three consecutive inspections, which prompted the closure. Red violations are those that are serious enough they can cause foodborne illness. In December 2014, an inspection found that food was being held at less than 130°F (food must be held at 140°F or higher to prevent bacterial growth). In October 2015, violations including improper cooking times and temperatures of food, and improper use of non-continuous cooking. The inspection in November 2015 also found improper hot holding temperatures of less than … [Read more...]
Boston College Norovirus Associated with Chipotle Hits 120
The Massachusetts Department of Health has released a statement about the food poisoning outbreak at Boston College, believed to be associated with the Chipotle restaurant at Cleveland Circle. "Initial testing conducted by the State Public Health has shown the presence of norovirus," the statement reads. Now at least 120 students are sick in that outbreak, which was not an E. coli outbreak, as was originally feared. Boston College released another statement to its community, confirming that the outbreak was norovirus and offering information to the students and staff. At least 80 of the sickened students confirmed that they did eat at the Chipotle restaurant at Cleveland Circle. The Chipotle restaurant in question was closed after the reports of illness started to come in. A City of … [Read more...]
Boston College Reports Food Poisoning Cases: Chipotle?
Boston College Health Services is confirming that at least 30 students, including 8 basketball players, have come to them complaining of gastrointestinal symptoms, including vomiting and diarrhea. The common factor among all of those sickened, according to BC officials, is that they ate at the Chipotle restaurant in Cleveland Circle. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has been notified, and is working to determine if these illnesses are connected to the nationwide E. coli O26 outbreak linked to Chipotle restaurants or if these illnesses are caused by norovirus or another factor. There is no evidence at this time that the illnesses are caused by E. coli bacteria or that Chipotle restaurants are, in fact, involved. The Chipotle restaurant in question at Cleveland Circle has … [Read more...]
After E. coli Outbreak, Chipotle Aims to Become Food Safety Leader
In the wake of two high-profile food poisoning outbreaks, Chipotle has announced its intention to become a leader in food safety. The fat casual restaurant chain is currently linked to nine-state E. coli outbreak that has sickened 52 people and was linked to a Salmonella outbreak in Minnesota that sickened 64 people in September. The outbreaks have prompted the company to revamp the food safety and food handling practices at all of its restaurants and throughout its supply chain, the company said in a press release today. Chipotle hopes these changes will position it as a food safety leader in the industry. Chipotle retained Seattle-based IEH Laboratories to help it identify opportunities to enhance food safety practices throughout its operations. Some of the features of the new … [Read more...]
Law Firm Files First E. coli Lawsuit Against Chipotle
The first lawsuit has been filed against Chipotle restaurants on behalf of a client who was sickened with an E. coli infection after eating at one of those facilities in Vancouver, Washington. Six of Chipotle's restaurants in the Northwest United States have been linked to an Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) outbreak that has sickened at least 22 people in Washington state and Oregon. Chipotle has voluntarily closed 43 of its restaurants in that region as public health officials investigate this outbreak. Chipotle restaurants have been linked to several foodborne illness outbreaks in the last several years. A Salmonella outbreak in Minnesota in August 2015 linked to Chipotle sickened at least 45 people. A 2009 E. coli O157:H7 outbreak sickened people who ate at Chipotle restaurants … [Read more...]
What Caused the Chipotle E. Coli Outbreak in Washington and Oregon?
An E. coli outbreak has sickened at least 22 people in Washington state and Oregon. Oregon Health Authority says the cases are linked to six Chipotle restaurants in the region. Eight people have been hospitalized; no one has died from their illness. Chipotle has closed their restaurants in the region. Because this outbreak is linked to six different restaurants separated by distance, it makes sense that food from a supplier is the source of the pathogenic bacteria. A Salmonella outbreak at Chipotle restaurants in Minnesota in August 2015 was linked to tomatoes purchased from a common supplier. That outbreak sickened at least 45 people. We don't know what food is the source of the E. coli that caused this outbreak. In the past, E. coli outbreaks have been linked to raw sprouts, … [Read more...]
E. coli Outbreak Linked to Chipotle Restaurants in OR, WA
The Oregon Health Authority released a statement today saying that there is an E. coli outbreak linked to Chipotle restaurants in Washington state and Oregon. At least 19 people are sick in Washington and 3 are ill in Oregon. Eight of those sickened have been hospitalized in this outbreak. No one has died. The patient age range is from 11 to 64 years old. Those sickened live in Clackamas and Washington counties in Oregon, and in Clark, King, Skagit, and Cowlitz counties in Washington. The patients have reported eating at six of the restaurants in those states. If you or someone you know ate at any Chipotle restaurant in the Northwest between October 14 and 23, 2015 and has been sick with vomiting and bloody diarrhea, see your health care provider. Mention this outbreak. All … [Read more...]
Three Salmonella Outbreaks: 642 Sick Across U.S.
There are currently three ongoing Salmonella outbreaks across the country, with at least 642 sick. Two people have died, and dozens have been hospitalized because of their illness. There are 45 people sick in the Salmonella outbreak linked to Chipotle restaurants in Minnesota. Four hundred eighteen people are sick with Salmonella linked to slicer cucumbers imported from Mexico. And as many as 160 people are sick in the outbreak at the Fig & Olive restaurant in Washington, D.C. Using the standard multiplier for Salmonella outbreaks, 30.3, which means that for every case reported there are 30 that go unreported, that means there may be more than 16,000 Americans sickened with Salmonella just this summer in the U.S. in these three clusters. What is going on? Nationwide, … [Read more...]
Law Firm Files Salmonella Lawsuit Against Chipotle
The nationally recognized food safety law firm of Pritzker Law has filed a lawsuit (0:15-cv-03668) against Chipotle Mexican Grill on behalf of a client who was sickened with a Salmonella infection after eating at the restaurant in Maplewood, Minnesota. She ate at the restaurant on August 28, 2015, and got sick on August 31, 2015. At least 44 other people are sick with Salmonella infections in Minnesota that are linked to the restaurant. Thirty-four of the thirty-six people interviewed by public health officials stated that they ate at Chipotle restaurants the week before they got sick. Patients ate at the restaurants between August 16 and 26, 2015, and became ill between August 20 and 29, 2015. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, seventeen Chipotle restaurants may be … [Read more...]
What Caused Salmonella Outbreaks at Chipotle and Fig & Olive?
Two Salmonella outbreaks at restaurants are sickening people in Minnesota and Washington, D.C. A Salmonella Newport outbreak at Chipotle restaurants in Minnesota has sickened at least 45 people, and an outbreak at Fig & Olive in Washington, D.C. may have sickened at least 20 people. There is a nationwide Salmonella Poona outbreak linked to imported cucumbers as well, with at least 341 people sickened in 30 states and two dead. Are these outbreaks related? The short answer is we don't know, but the Minnesota Department of Health has stated that the nationwide cucumber Salmonella outbreak is not related to the Chipotle outbreak. The cucumber Salmonella outbreak, caused by Salmonella Poona, has the potential to be huge, since the distributor, Andrew & Williamson, shipped the … [Read more...]
