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Chipotle under criminal investigation for norovirus outbreak in California
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Chipotle Mexican Grill was served with a federal grand jury subpoena in December in connection with a norovirus outbreak that occurred in August at a restaurant in Simi Valley, California, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission report filed by Chipotle on Jan. 6.
An investigation is being led by U.S. prosecutors and the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations to determine how Chipotle handled the outbreak, according to the report. The subpoena, issued by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, requires Chipotle to provide documents related to the outbreak, which affected 207 consumers and employees, Douglas A. Beach, manager of administrative and community services for Ventura County’s Environmental Health Division (EHD), told Infectious Disease News.
“We intend to fully cooperate in the investigation,” Chipotle officials said in the report. “It is not possible at this time to determine whether we will incur, or to reasonably estimate the amount of any fines, penalties or further liabilities in connection with the investigation pursuant to which the subpoena was issued.”
The EHD received information on Aug. 21 that several people became ill after consuming food served at a Chipotle restaurant in Simi Valley, according to a September press release. An initial investigation launched by the EHD and Ventura County Public Health Division revealed that nearly 80 consumers and 18 employees reported gastrointestinal illness symptoms the week of Aug. 18. Several specimens submitted for laboratory analysis were positive for norovirus.
Chipotle voluntarily closed the restaurant to restock food products and conduct extensive cleaning and disinfection.
“Most restaurant owners do a good job of keeping their businesses clean,” William C. Stratton, director of the EHD, said in the release. “A foodborne illness outbreak can be devastating to a restaurant, so they work hard to prevent them.”
Chipotle was linked to several other outbreaks since October, including an Escherichia coli outbreak that affected 53 people in nine states, another E.coli outbreak that affected five people in three states, and a separate norovirus outbreak that affected 136 people in Massachusetts.
Chipotle’s sales dropped by as much as 37% after the outbreaks and national media attention, according to the SEC report. Overall, sales were down 30% for December. - by Stephanie Viguers