A series of food poisonings and other challenges are threatening is threatening the darling of the fast-food world – Chipotle.
The challenge for Chipotle is to cater to the demand of a generation of diners wanting inexpensive food that is safe, natural and nutritious.
Chipotle closed 43 restaurants in Washington state and Oregon was the beginning of the latest crisis for the company after health authorities linked an E. coli outbreak to six restaurants in the region.
There have been seven more states that have reported contraction of illness at Chipotles restaurants including Illinois, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
The company had to close another restaurant in Boston after 80 students at Boston College fell ill after eating at a Chipotle this week. Norovirus, a common virus was responsible for the latest food poisoning, according to Boston health officials. The authorities said that the restaurant has been accused of two health violations - improper handling of poultry and the presence of a sick employee.
Chipotle suddenly is facing the same critical challenge brand names such as Costco and Blue Bell ice cream after years of strong growth and accolades. This is perhaps that first time that serious questions are raised about the quality or safety of one of their products.
The business of Taco Bell's suffered for more than a year after an E. coli outbreak even after the company had rapidly fixed the problem.
In most such cases, customers have begun demanding better-quality food without being willing to pay much more for it even as the company recovered in terms of business.
Since the chain has promised that it adheres to more-rigorous standards for procuring and serving its food, hence Chipotle's reputation is perhaps more at risk than most in the fast-food industry. there is a chance that the company faces a permanent red mark after the latest spate of setbacks.
"The real red flags are repetitive failures. When there is repetitioit terms of business n, that's what really damages credibility. It's a risky position for Chipotle to be in now," said Arun Lakshmanan, a marketing professor at the University at Buffalo's School of Management.
Chipotle has pledged to sanitize its operations, hired food safety consultants and announced that it would introduce more-stringent testing of its ingredients in response to one of its biggest health and public relations challenges in its 22 year history.
Chipotle has about 2,000 locations.
"If there is a silver lining with an incident like this and not knowing for sure what the cause is, it's that it has prompted us to fully reassess our food handling practices, from the farms that produce our food to the restaurants where we serve our customers," said Chris Arnold, the company's director of communications.
Calling the outbreak "a very unfortunate incident" and saying that he is "deeply sorry", Steve Ells, the company's co-chief executive officer, apologized to customers on on NBC's "Today" show On Thursday.
"The procedures we're putting in place today are so above industry norms that we are going to be the safest place to eat," he said.
(Source:www.washingtonpost.com)
The challenge for Chipotle is to cater to the demand of a generation of diners wanting inexpensive food that is safe, natural and nutritious.
Chipotle closed 43 restaurants in Washington state and Oregon was the beginning of the latest crisis for the company after health authorities linked an E. coli outbreak to six restaurants in the region.
There have been seven more states that have reported contraction of illness at Chipotles restaurants including Illinois, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
The company had to close another restaurant in Boston after 80 students at Boston College fell ill after eating at a Chipotle this week. Norovirus, a common virus was responsible for the latest food poisoning, according to Boston health officials. The authorities said that the restaurant has been accused of two health violations - improper handling of poultry and the presence of a sick employee.
Chipotle suddenly is facing the same critical challenge brand names such as Costco and Blue Bell ice cream after years of strong growth and accolades. This is perhaps that first time that serious questions are raised about the quality or safety of one of their products.
The business of Taco Bell's suffered for more than a year after an E. coli outbreak even after the company had rapidly fixed the problem.
In most such cases, customers have begun demanding better-quality food without being willing to pay much more for it even as the company recovered in terms of business.
Since the chain has promised that it adheres to more-rigorous standards for procuring and serving its food, hence Chipotle's reputation is perhaps more at risk than most in the fast-food industry. there is a chance that the company faces a permanent red mark after the latest spate of setbacks.
"The real red flags are repetitive failures. When there is repetitioit terms of business n, that's what really damages credibility. It's a risky position for Chipotle to be in now," said Arun Lakshmanan, a marketing professor at the University at Buffalo's School of Management.
Chipotle has pledged to sanitize its operations, hired food safety consultants and announced that it would introduce more-stringent testing of its ingredients in response to one of its biggest health and public relations challenges in its 22 year history.
Chipotle has about 2,000 locations.
"If there is a silver lining with an incident like this and not knowing for sure what the cause is, it's that it has prompted us to fully reassess our food handling practices, from the farms that produce our food to the restaurants where we serve our customers," said Chris Arnold, the company's director of communications.
Calling the outbreak "a very unfortunate incident" and saying that he is "deeply sorry", Steve Ells, the company's co-chief executive officer, apologized to customers on on NBC's "Today" show On Thursday.
"The procedures we're putting in place today are so above industry norms that we are going to be the safest place to eat," he said.
(Source:www.washingtonpost.com)
