As part of the series of foodborne illness outbreaks linked to Chipotle, the company has agreed to pay 25 million fine according to the US Department of Justice. As part of the agreement, the company "agreed to a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) that will allow it to avoid conviction if it complies with an improved food safety program."
"Chipotle was implicated in at least five foodborne illness outbreaks between 2015 and 2018 connected to restaurants in the Los Angeles area, Boston, Virginia and Ohio. These incidents primarily stemmed from store-level employees’ failure to follow company food safety protocols at company-owned restaurants, including a Chipotle policy requiring the exclusion of employees who were sick or recently had been sick."
Although the company had a substantial loss in stock value along with drop in sales, they have been doing well as of recent. "Chipotle reported financial results for its fiscal first quarter, clocking a 7.8% increase in revenue, to $1.4 billion, compared with the same period a year ago. Comparable restaurant sales increased 3.3%, even with a 1.4% decrease in the number of transactions, and inspite of a 16.0% decline in comparable restaurant sales in the month of March."
Meatingplace.com
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Chipotle to pay $25M to settle food safety case
By Lisa M. Keefe on 4/22/2020
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. has agreed to pay a $25 million fine — the largest ever in a food safety case — and enter a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve criminal charges brought against the fast-casual chain related to a series of foodborne illness outbreaks that sickened more than 1,100 people between 2015 and 2018, the Department of Justice said in a news release posted on its website.
The DOJ filed criminal information Tuesday in federal court in Los Angeles, the release said, charging Chipotle with adulterating food in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. However, Newport Beach, Calif.-based chain agreed to a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) that will allow it to avoid conviction if it complies with an improved food safety program.
“Chipotle failed to ensure that its employees both understood and complied with its food safety protocols, resulting in hundreds of customers across the country getting sick,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna for the Central District of California, in the release. “Today’s steep penalty, coupled with the tens of millions of dollars Chipotle already has spent to upgrade its food safety program since 2015, should result in greater protections for Chipotle customers and remind others in the industry to review and improve their own health and safety practices.”
The charges stem in part from incidents related to outbreaks of norovirus, a highly infective pathogen that easily can be transmitted by food workers handling ready-to-eat foods and their ingredients. According to the factual statement in the Deferred Prosecution Agreement, which the company agreed was true, Chipotle was implicated in at least five foodborne illness outbreaks between 2015 and 2018 connected to restaurants in the Los Angeles area, Boston, Virginia and Ohio. These incidents primarily stemmed from store-level employees’ failure to follow company food safety protocols at company-owned restaurants, including a Chipotle policy requiring the exclusion of employees who were sick or recently had been sick.
Chipotle agreed in the DPA to develop and follow an improved, comprehensive food safety compliance program. The company also agreed to work with its Food Safety Council to evaluate the company’s food safety audits, restaurant staffing and employee training, among other areas, to mitigate the issues that led to the outbreaks.
“This settlement represents an acknowledgment of how seriously Chipotle takes food safety every day and is an opportunity to definitively turn the page on past events,” said Brian Niccol, Chipotle's chairman and CEO in a release posted on the company's website.
“Over the last four years, we instituted several enhancements to our food preparation and food handling practices to lower the risk of foodborne illnesses. These measures include reducing the number of employees who come into contact with ingredients, safeguards to minimize the risk that an ingredient is undercooked, andmicrobiological testing of raw ingredients before they are shipped to restaurants,” said Kerry Bridges, vice president food safety for Chipotle.
Meanwhile, Chipotle reported financial results for its fiscal first quarter, clocking a 7.8% increase in revenue, to $1.4 billion, compared with the same period a year ago. Comparable restaurant sales increased 3.3%, even with a 1.4% decrease in the number of transactions, and inspite of a 16.0% decline in comparable restaurant sales in the month of March.
Digital sales for the period grew 80.8% and accounted for 26.3% of sales for the quarter.
Full article - https://www.meatingplace.com/Industry/News/Details/91665
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