Chipotle announces raft of changes following E. coli outbreak
Chipotle has announced that it will change its cooking methods in order to prevent more E. coli outbreaks which have damaged its brand and resulted in plummeting shares.
The fast food chain has saw its share price drop 18 per cent since October following a wave of negative publicity from an outbreak of E. coli involving more than 50 cases across eight states.
In response to the crisis, Chipotle promised to take "aggressive actions" and outlined a number of changes on its website.
"In the wake of recent food safety-related incidents at a number of Chipotle restaurants, we have taken aggressive actions to implement pioneering food safety practices," a statement on the website said.
Partnering with food safety consulting firm IEH Laboratories, Chipotle developed a number of changes to how it prepares and stores its Mexican themed fast-food. Restaurants will now dip fresh ingredients, like onions, in boiling water to kill off any germs. The company is also preparing ingredients, such as tomatoes, in a centralised kitchen where they can be washed, chopped and tested before being sent to restaurants.
Chicken will be marinated in plastic bags rather than bowls, and coriander will be added to hot rice to allow the heat to remove any microbes.
Damningly, the company’s last annual report, released in February, appears to show that it was aware of the risk of foodborne illnesses but failed to take action until now. It warned investors that its use of fresh ingredients, rather than frozen, and traditional stovetop cooking, put it at greater risk than competitors like McDonalds.