Are Chipotle's New Food Safety Procedures Working?

on the button a calendar month after Chipotleclosed all its restaurantsfor a internal food for thought safety meeting , the fast - casual burrito concatenation ’s comprehensive new refuge bill and its promise to quash furtherfood - borne illnessoutbreaks were put to the test this week with anorovirus scare at a Chipotle near Boston . And while a mere food - assume illnessscareis bad word for Chipotle these days , it appears the company wangle to preclude another disaster .

Chipotle voluntarily closed its Billerica , MA , frontier settlement on Tuesday after companionship officials learned four employee were fed up , some of whom were suspected to have the extremely contagious GI illness know as Norovirus . Although the sick employees stay home and did not wreak while badly , the company thoroughly sanitized the eating house and reopen on Thursday after receiving an all - decipherable from local public wellness officials . As of Thursday , there have been no reports of sick customers .

So are Chipotle ’s rubber standard working ? Well , Chipotle thinks so .

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" In this slip , we had four employees who were not feeling well and stay out from work – exactly what should find , " Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold said via electronic mail . " As a precautional measure , we shut down the restaurant to have it completely sanitized , and reopened today with the support of the local wellness section . So this very much seems to be a case of the system working very much as it should . "

Billerica Health Director Richard Berube toldReutersChipotle was " very proactive , " and others appear to praise the troupe for its response to the illness threat and the fact that the pale employees stay home . Doug Powell , publisher of food base hit situation barfblog.com , said the Billerica incident did n’t appear to test Chipotle ’s new measures for see the ingredients it germ are safe , but note the worker ’s decision to say home was a " dependable sign , " according to thereport .

" It sound like [ Chipotle ] fasten thing up considerably and one would desire that they could keep problems from reoccurring . "

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As part of its extended solid food safety platform , Chipotle is one of the few home restaurant chain that offer up a pay off ill program for its employee . When asked by Thrillist , Arnold would not say the Norovirus panic attack is an example of the pay unhinged programme in action , and simply reiterated , " I suppose it ’s an example of the system put to work the fashion it should . "

Robert Gravani , a food safety expert and professor at Cornell University , said it ’s hard for him to say if Chipotle ’s new food safety measures are shape , but notes that paid sick leave-taking for eating place actor is an " important proposition . "

" A lot of times , food worker really depend on that paycheck at the ending of the week and if they remain home , they do n’t get pay . " he say . " Paid sick prison term encourages multitude not to work when they are sick , and hopefully this does n’t get mistreat , but they can stay home and convalesce . "

Gravani consider Chipotle did the right thing by closing and sanitizing the restaurant out of an teemingness of caution .

" I consider Chipotle ’s quick response to this situation in closing things down and double assure everything and being prudent is clearly an indication that they ’re trying to win back the corporate trust and trust of their client and the general public , ” he said . “ It sound like [ Chipotle ] tightened things up considerably and one would hope that they could keep problems from reoccurring . "