Chipotle Mexican Grill in Seattle Closed for the Violation of Food Safety

The Seattle-based restaurant, Chipotle has been shut by the Seattle health officials due to the repeated food safety infringement. This is the 17^th outlet located in the Westlake Avenue that passed the inspections and reopened last month. But it was followed by an E. coli outbreak.

According to the Seattle Times report, the move of shutting down the Mexican-style restaurant, at 212 Westlake Ave., comes more than a month after the fast-food chain closed 43 sites in Washington and Oregon amid an E. coli outbreak. This epidemic has eventually sickened 52 people in the nine states and sent 20 people to the hospitals.

The Seattle-King and County public health department states that the root of the violation of food safety is due to the failure of the restaurant to keep the ingredients hot enough. The stored or cold food can lead to food-borne sickness.

The CEO and Founder of the Chipotle chain of restaurant, Steve Ells stated, "I'm sorry for the people who got sick. They're having a tough time and I feel terrible about that," reported in the WHIO news. He also confirmed that the company promises to tighten the food safety measures and make that there are no such occurrences further.

On the same day of such statement by Ells, the health officials reported around 120 students from the Boston College being affected by the norovirus after eating at the Chipotle Store. The ingredient that is causing harm to the people has not yet been recognized.

According to The News Tribune, Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold told in an email they are looking into the cause of the violation and will address it.

The spokesperson of Chipotle, Chris Arnold informed that one of the employees was sick during this incident which may be the sole cause of the norovirus epidemic. This outbreak is infectious and leads to vomiting, diarrhea and nausea. But, the employee has breached the company policy.

Chipotle is ensuring that all the employees are thoroughly tested and checked for norovirus before they return to work after the opening of the restaurant. The company has brought in a new set of health experts who will make it sure that no such incident ever occur again.

The CEO of the company Steve Ells said that the changes made after this outbreak will put the restaurant 10-15 years ahead of the industry policies. Chipotle will be the safest restaurant where one can eat without fear. The company shares were going down drastically after the epidemic but after the statement from Ells, it has risen 5% to $575.43 on Thursday.