The fact it was a Clostridium perfringens outbreak is an indicator of a bad food handling practice. C. perfringens becomes an issue when cooked food is held at an improper temperature (probably in the 80F and 110 range) for a long time. For example...beef used in a burrito. The meat is cooked, but spores of C. perfringnes survive. Not a problem if meat is cooled rapidly and refrigerated or kept hot (>135F). But if that meat is left out on the counter over night and then warmed for serving....boom. The organism grows to high numbers (infectious dose >10E6, infects the person in high numbers, produces toxin in the gut, and then in about 16 hours..it is watery diarrhea and cramps for 12 to 24 hrs. At that point, you are thinking #@$%! burritos.
When news was released, many thought it was Norovirus, which even a good facility can have an issue when a worker is a carrier but doesnt know.. But C. perfringens...that is just bad food handling practices. A sign that a restaurant is not keeping an eye on the ball. And with that many people ill, that means that there was a lot of product that was temperature abused.
The company announced that food workers will be required to do quarterly online training and assessment. "The test is an "e-learning type module that all employees will be required to complete on a quarterly basis in addition to their daily food safety routines and annual food safety training," Chipotle spokeswoman Laurie Schalow told Business Insider on Thursday. The company also said Thursday it will retrain all employees on top food-safety priorities. The training will begin next week during employees' shifts at restaurants across the United States."
Meatingplace.com
http://www.meatingplace.com/Industry/News/Details/81187
Health officials identify pathogen in Ohio Chipotle outbreak
By Susan Kelly on 8/17/2018
Health officials in Ohio on Thursday said stool samples tested in connection with a foodborne disease outbreak at a Chipotle restaurant in Delaware County that sickened 647 people in July tested positive for the toxin that Clostridium perfringens forms in the gastrointestinal tract.
The company announced that food workers will be required to do quarterly online training and assessment. "The test is an "e-learning type module that all employees will be required to complete on a quarterly basis in addition to their daily food safety routines and annual food safety training," Chipotle spokeswoman Laurie Schalow told Business Insider on Thursday. The company also said Thursday it will retrain all employees on top food-safety priorities. The training will begin next week during employees' shifts at restaurants across the United States."
Meatingplace.com
http://www.meatingplace.com/Industry/News/Details/81187
Health officials identify pathogen in Ohio Chipotle outbreak
By Susan Kelly on 8/17/2018
Health officials in Ohio on Thursday said stool samples tested in connection with a foodborne disease outbreak at a Chipotle restaurant in Delaware County that sickened 647 people in July tested positive for the toxin that Clostridium perfringens forms in the gastrointestinal tract.
C. perfringens occurs when food is left at an unsafe temperature. Although stool samples tested positive, food samples tested negative for the bacteria, and a specific food has not been identified as the source of illness, the Delaware General Health District said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention laboratory is conducting ongoing food and stool testing. The health district identified 647 people who self-reported gastrointestinal symptoms after consuming food at the Chipotle in Powell, Ohio, between July 26 and July 30.
Chipotle statement
Chipotle said it will retrain all restaurant employees nationwide beginning next week on food safety and wellness protocols in response to the outbreak.
To ensure consistent food safety execution, Chipotle will add to its daily food safety routines a recurring employee knowledge assessment of the company’s food safety standards, Chief Executive Brian Niccol said in a statement.
“Chipotle has a zero-tolerance policy for any violations of our stringent food safety standards and we are committed to doing all we can to ensure it does not happen again,” Niccol said.
https://www.businessinsider.com/chipotle-illness-outbreak-employees-must-take-food-safety-test-2018-8
Chipotle is requiring all employees to take a quarterly food-safety test after its latest illness outbreak that sickened 650 people
Hayley Peterson
Aug. 17, 2018, 11:58 AM
Chipotle will start requiring its employees to take a quarterly online test on food safety after an illness outbreak tied to one of its restaurants sickened at least 647 people.
The test is an "e-learning type module that all employees will be required to complete on a quarterly basis in addition to their daily food safety routines and annual food safety training," Chipotle spokeswoman Laurie Schalow told Business Insider on Thursday.
The company also said Thursday it will retrain all employees on top food-safety priorities. The training will begin next week during employees' shifts at restaurants across the United States.
Chipotle is adding the new online assessment and training after an illness outbreak sickened hundreds of people who ate at one of the company's restaurants in Powell, Ohio, last month. Reported symptoms included vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pains.
Stool samples taken from customers who got sick after eating at the restaurant tested positive for Clostridium perfringens, a foodborne illness that occurs when food is left at an unsafe temperature, according to Traci Whittaker, a spokeswoman for the Delaware General Health District.
The health department said that no specific food has been identified as the source of the illness and that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was conducting food and stool testing.
Records show that local health officials inspected the Powell Chipotle on July 26 and found violations related to food not being held at proper temperatures. Specifically, they observed that lettuce was not properly cooled and that beans were not held at a warm enough temperature.
Chipotle has spent millions of dollars on measures to improve food safety after an E. coli outbreak three years ago affected restaurants in 14 states.
The procedures include blanching some ingredients in boiling water and marinating others in citrus juice. Restaurants have also added new measures for recording food temperatures and logging employees' wellness, among other procedures.
If you work at Chipotle and have a story to share, contact hpeterson@businessinsider.com.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention laboratory is conducting ongoing food and stool testing. The health district identified 647 people who self-reported gastrointestinal symptoms after consuming food at the Chipotle in Powell, Ohio, between July 26 and July 30.
Chipotle statement
Chipotle said it will retrain all restaurant employees nationwide beginning next week on food safety and wellness protocols in response to the outbreak.
To ensure consistent food safety execution, Chipotle will add to its daily food safety routines a recurring employee knowledge assessment of the company’s food safety standards, Chief Executive Brian Niccol said in a statement.
“Chipotle has a zero-tolerance policy for any violations of our stringent food safety standards and we are committed to doing all we can to ensure it does not happen again,” Niccol said.
https://www.businessinsider.com/chipotle-illness-outbreak-employees-must-take-food-safety-test-2018-8
Chipotle is requiring all employees to take a quarterly food-safety test after its latest illness outbreak that sickened 650 people
Hayley Peterson
Aug. 17, 2018, 11:58 AM
- Chipotle will start requiring its employees to take a quarterly online test on food safety after an illness outbreak tied to one of its restaurants sickened at least 647 people.
- The company also said Thursday it will retrain all employees on top food-safety priorities.
- Chipotle has spent millions of dollars on measures to improve food safety after an E. coli outbreak three years ago affected restaurants in 14 states.
Chipotle will start requiring its employees to take a quarterly online test on food safety after an illness outbreak tied to one of its restaurants sickened at least 647 people.
The test is an "e-learning type module that all employees will be required to complete on a quarterly basis in addition to their daily food safety routines and annual food safety training," Chipotle spokeswoman Laurie Schalow told Business Insider on Thursday.
The company also said Thursday it will retrain all employees on top food-safety priorities. The training will begin next week during employees' shifts at restaurants across the United States.
Chipotle is adding the new online assessment and training after an illness outbreak sickened hundreds of people who ate at one of the company's restaurants in Powell, Ohio, last month. Reported symptoms included vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pains.
Stool samples taken from customers who got sick after eating at the restaurant tested positive for Clostridium perfringens, a foodborne illness that occurs when food is left at an unsafe temperature, according to Traci Whittaker, a spokeswoman for the Delaware General Health District.
The health department said that no specific food has been identified as the source of the illness and that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was conducting food and stool testing.
Records show that local health officials inspected the Powell Chipotle on July 26 and found violations related to food not being held at proper temperatures. Specifically, they observed that lettuce was not properly cooled and that beans were not held at a warm enough temperature.
Chipotle has spent millions of dollars on measures to improve food safety after an E. coli outbreak three years ago affected restaurants in 14 states.
The procedures include blanching some ingredients in boiling water and marinating others in citrus juice. Restaurants have also added new measures for recording food temperatures and logging employees' wellness, among other procedures.
If you work at Chipotle and have a story to share, contact hpeterson@businessinsider.com.
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