CA - Criminal investigation: Chipotle Norovirus Outbreak

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Criminal investigation tied to norovirus outbreak underway at Chipotle

Posted: 9:29 AM, January 06, 2016

Updated: 11:03 AM, January 06, 2016

NEW YORK - Chipotle has been served with a federal subpoena as part of a criminal investigation tied to a norovirus outbreak at one of its restaurants in California.

The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California in conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday...

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/...gn=Breaking News Alert&utm_term=wdiv_breaking
 
Chipotle Says It Faces Criminal Investigation in Food Illness Case

by Mike Brunker

Jan 6 2016, 9:31 am ET

The reeling Chipotle restaurant chain had more bad news for investors on Wednesday, announcing it has been served with a federal grand jury subpoena as part of a criminal investigation tied to a norovirus outbreak this summer at one of its restaurants in California.

The investigation, which is being conducted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California in conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations, involves an outbreak at a restaurant in Simi Valley in August 2015, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday...

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/bus...minal-investigation-food-illness-case-n491176
 
Chipotle outbreaks: Death knell for local sourcing?

Anita Balakrishnan
17 Hours Ago
CNBC.com

The "farm-to-table" movement — emphasizing ethically, locally sourced food — evokes a pastoral fantasy of a simpler time. But now that a bellwether of the trend is under scrutiny for foodborne illnesses, reality may be testing the limits of the farm-to-table foodie craze, experts told CNBC.

Chipotle Mexican Grill warned investors Wednesday that sales had been pummeled by fallout from E. coli and norovirus incidents. It also said a grand jury has subpoenaed it in an investigation of a separate norovirus outbreak.

The latest news sent yet another shock wave through a chain known for touting local ingredients on an unprecedented scale. Is the dining darling's downward spiral a death knell for local sourcing?

No good deed goes unpunished, said Joe Bastianich, host of CNBC's "Restaurant Startup." ...

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/06/chip...ourcing.html?__source=xfinity|mod&par=xfinity
 
Antivirus is one of the most common, easy-to-catch viruses in the world. If you catch it from where someone on an escalator touched before they had any idea they were going to be sick, are we going to criminally charge the mall or the escalator company? Usually, crimes stem from some kind of intent followed by an action. Do they think the company is having intent to sicken people? That it could be an individual makes much more sense to me. But usually catching a 24-72 hour stomach virus is just unplanned anonymous contact. Are we going to determine via DNA who gave it to you and start jailing people back up to patient zero?! Weird case, even for this administration. wendybtn, RN, '87
 
I don't think farm-to-table is the issue.

The report said that an inspection of the restaurant shortly after the outbreak found numerous safety violations, including failures in pest control, sanitation, and maintenance. Employees also were working without valid food handler cards as required by California law, according to the report.
 
I don't think farm-to-table is the issue.
The report said that an inspection of the restaurant shortly after the outbreak found numerous safety violations, including failures in pest control, sanitation, and maintenance. Employees also were working without valid food handler cards as required by California law, according to the report.

I worked at over 10 different food establishments when I lived in California, and had dozens of good friends who I worked with. I didn’t have a Food Handler Card and I don’t know one single person who did have one. I never even heard of a Food Handler Card. Some of the supervisors were certified trained in food handling. They were responsible for training the other workers. Some employees got proper training and others just learned what ever they could on their own.

The sad thing is that Chipotle will handle this the same way that Jack in the Box and Taco Bell did. They will use it as an opportunity to close a lot of unprofitable stores. Then they will wait a year or two until most people forget about this, and go right back to doing business the same way they did before this happened. Opening new stores as fast as possible, paying employees as little as possible, and giving them as little training as possible. Paying employees a decent wage and training them properly, cuts into profits. So thats not going to happen. For companies like Chipotle, killing a few customers is just the price they pay for growth and profits.
 
The problem here, that so many in the public health/media industry miss, is uncooked chopped up food. Mexican restaurants are particularly susceptible to food poisoning, because they serve uncooked salsas and pico de gallo. Those two items are perfect storms for food born viruses and bacteria.

The article uptop mentions Subway for organic eggs, and someone else ? for turkey burgers. Those aren't the problem, because they are intended to be served fully cooked. If you mess up and don't fully cook them, or store them in dishes where uncooked food was stored, there's a problem.

There is virtually no way for a restaurant to guard against food poisoning in uncooked chopped up produce product.
 
Despite our best efforts to stay healthy, both DH and I have been afflicted by Norovirus on cruise ships. Thankfully, we weren't sick on the same vessel at the same time. I vomited in an elevator and had to report the incident and illness to medical personnel. I was quarantined in our stateroom for 24 hours (on my birthday and one of the formal nights on the cruise). DH was allowed to come and go as he pleased but was advised to avoid the buffet and wash his hands frequently.

Hazmat team cleaned our stateroom during the 24 hour period as regular steward was not permitted in the room so he didn't contract the illness. I was placed on a special diet with food delivered by someone wearing protective gear. Nurse took my temperature twice during the day and advised me to take Advil and Immodium as needed. I always have these when traveling and didn't have to pay for scripts onboard. I felt better in the evening but was ordered to remain in the stateroom. I read, did word puzzles, watched TV, so the time passed quickly. I was released from quarantine after the 24 hour period with temperature back to normal and no vomiting or diarrhea for 18 hours. During that cruise, there were 30-40 cases of Norovirus but no special precautions were taken for all passengers.

On the cruise during which DH became ill, one of my sisters was also stricken with Norovirus late in the voyage. Many passengers were ill, and special precautions were taken to curb the spread of the virus. Passengers were reminded to wash hands frequently, and no one was allowed to enter a dining venue without using hand sanitizer at the entrance. In main dining venues, salt & pepper shakers were available upon request, and bread/rolls were doled out instead of being left on tables, no flower vases, etc. Crew members were constantly wiping handrails and elevator buttons, pools were closed, passengers were asked to avoid using public restrooms, etc. Since they became ill on the final day of the cruise, my husband and sister self-quarantined because neither felt well enough to navigate the ship. We had also learned that anyone who was known to be sick would be detained onboard while healthy passengers disembarked. We did not want to risk missing flights, and there really wasn't much that medical personnel could do with so many ill people (including crew members) onboard. The ship was completely sanitized prior to the next voyage with embarkation of new passengers delayed several hours.

Since our episodes of Norovirus, DH and I avoid the buffet at all costs and wash our hands frequently. We carry surgical gloves and wear them if we hear anything about illness onboard. We get :stormingmad: when we witness passengers not washing hands or refusing hand sanitizer in dining venues. It also bothers us when we see crew members who are obviously not well but won't report their illness because they might lose pay and/or shore privileges. So far, the ship we're sailing in two weeks hasn't had major Noro outbreaks this season, and we hope the ship remains free of the nasty virus.

Bon Voyage!
 
Despite our best efforts to stay healthy, both DH and I have been afflicted by Norovirus on cruise ships. Thankfully, we weren't sick on the same vessel at the same time. I vomited in an elevator and had to report the incident and illness to medical personnel. I was quarantined in our stateroom for 24 hours (on my birthday and one of the formal nights on the cruise). DH was allowed to come and go as he pleased but was advised to avoid the buffet and wash his hands frequently.

Hazmat team cleaned our stateroom during the 24 hour period as regular steward was not permitted in the room so he didn't contract the illness. I was placed on a special diet with food delivered by someone wearing protective gear. Nurse took my temperature twice during the day and advised me to take Advil and Immodium as needed. I always have these when traveling and didn't have to pay for scripts onboard. I felt better in the evening but was ordered to remain in the stateroom. I read, did word puzzles, watched TV, so the time passed quickly. I was released from quarantine after the 24 hour period with temperature back to normal and no vomiting or diarrhea for 18 hours. During that cruise, there were 30-40 cases of Norovirus but no special precautions were taken for all passengers.

On the cruise during which DH became ill, one of my sisters was also stricken with Norovirus late in the voyage. Many passengers were ill, and special precautions were taken to curb the spread of the virus. Passengers were reminded to wash hands frequently, and no one was allowed to enter a dining venue without using hand sanitizer at the entrance. In main dining venues, salt & pepper shakers were available upon request, and bread/rolls were doled out instead of being left on tables, no flower vases, etc. Crew members were constantly wiping handrails and elevator buttons, pools were closed, passengers were asked to avoid using public restrooms, etc. Since they became ill on the final day of the cruise, my husband and sister self-quarantined because neither felt well enough to navigate the ship. We had also learned that anyone who was known to be sick would be detained onboard while healthy passengers disembarked. We did not want to risk missing flights, and there really wasn't much that medical personnel could do with so many ill people (including crew members) onboard. The ship was completely sanitized prior to the next voyage with embarkation of new passengers delayed several hours.

Since our episodes of Norovirus, DH and I avoid the buffet at all costs and wash our hands frequently. We carry surgical gloves and wear them if we hear anything about illness onboard. We get :stormingmad: when we witness passengers not washing hands or refusing hand sanitizer in dining venues. It also bothers us when we see crew members who are obviously not well but won't report their illness because they might lose pay and/or shore privileges. So far, the ship we're sailing in two weeks hasn't had major Noro outbreaks this season, and we hope the ship remains free of the nasty virus.

Bon Voyage!

I think I'll just avoid the cruise ships if it's all the same to you..
 

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