To date, no cases of E. coli or other issues have cropped up in Athens.
Many Ohio University students who received Chipotle Mexican Grill gift cards over the holidays are not discouraged by the franchise’s recent bad rap.
Chipotle Founder and co-CEO Steve Ells admitted on Chipotle's website that the company is responsible for the E. coli outbreak that sickened 52 people and the norovirus outbreak that sickened approximately 140 people at a Chipotle restaurant in Boston.
“I eat at Chipotle frequently even though it leaves me gaseous,” Ben Hertz, a freshman studying business, said. “I currently have stacks in Chipotle gift cards, and I’m not going to stop going there. The outbreak is terrible though. I have cousins in the Boston area.”
Ells wrote about how the chain is going to handle the outbreaks in its “Comprehensive Food Safety Plan” that was created by collaborating with preeminent food safety experts, according to its website.
“I believe our restaurants are safer today than they have ever been,” Ells wrote. “The last 22 years have been an incredible journey and we are not going to shy away from this new challenge.”
The first step of Chipotle’s food safety plan is to analyze every ingredient and all of the restaurant procedures in a “farm-to-fork” risk assessment. High-resolution sampling and new sanitation protocols will prevent contaminants such as E. coli from entering the restaurants. Chipotle is sampling all of its ingredients using DNA-based tests to ensure the quality of its ingredients.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified company leaders of the most recent cases of E. coli in Kansas, Oklahoma and North Dakota on Dec. 21. In late October, outbreaks occurred in Washington and Oregon, causing Chipotle executives to close 43 restaurants in the Seattle and Portland markets, according to Chipotle’s food safety FAQ.
To date, no cases of E. coli or other issues have cropped up in Athens.
“The recent outbreak hasn’t affected my decision to eat at Chipotle,” Chris Wilson, a senior studying communication, said. “It’s one of those things that can happen anywhere, but if there was an outbreak in Athens, I might avoid the store for a few weeks.”
Wilson said Chipotle is a treat for struggling college students despite the outbreaks and plans to continue to visit the Court Street restaurant every payday.
“I go to Chipotle at least once a week,” Taylor Meier, an OU graduate who performs with the band CAAMP in Athens, said. “I got a gift card for Christmas, and the outbreak doesn’t deter me at all. If they had someone who got E. coli from the store in Athens, it would be different."
@KyraCobb
kc036114@ohio.edu
