Within the past few months, the popular Mexican grill Chipotle, has been under great skepticism because of an E. coli epidemic that spanned across fourteen states.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of Jan. 27, 2016, a total of 55 people were affected by this bacterial outbreak. It has also since been determined that amongst these cases, there were two separate and rare forms of the E. coli.
E. coli is a type of bacteria that is generally found in the lower intestines of humans and other warm-blooded animals and generally does not cause harm. However, some strains of the E. coli bacteria can result in severe food poisoning, most often in the elderly and young children. Of these cases where Chipotle was determined to be the culprit, there were no serious cases and no deaths.
Even after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted over 2,500 tests to determine the exact cause of this outbreak, the mystery continues. There have been no causes ruled out for why these outbreaks have occurred. Despite the lack of severe cases, this outbreak has caused many customers to reconsider dining at Chipotle restaurants ever again.
So many customers have expressed distrust that Chipotle is using marketing techniques in order to convince customers to return. As a method of damage control, Chipotle has recently been giving promotions for free burritos and burrito bowls.
Further efforts have been made by the company, such as holding a national employee meeting to ensure that there are steps being taken to enhance food safety within the company.
