Qdoba, Illegal Pete’s and Noodles & Company restaurants in Denver have on average been issued more food safety violations in the past two years than their embattled competitor, Chipotle Mexican Grill.

The Denver Post analyzed data from the city’s Department of Public Health that show all four Colorado-based fast-casual chains were cited multiple times since 2014 for what inspectors consider serious problems.

Those issues included relatively minor findings of unfollowed cleaning procedures, a lack of hand soap near a sink and employees eating or drinking in undesignated areas, records show.

But inspectors also found a mouse carcass and rodent droppings at a downtown Chipotle location blocks from the company’s Lower Downtown headquarters and an employee at a Noodles restaurant preparing food after reaching into a dirty bucket.

At one Qdoba, there was a bottle of grill degreaser touching to-go cups.

Food safety has become a focus of consumers and restaurant chains alike as Chipotle continues to battle back from crippling news of outbreaks of E. coli, norovirus and salmonella traced back to its stores across the nation.

“I think that this is generating concern in the food industry, especially with quick-service restaurant chains,” said Danica Lee, food safety manager for Denver’s health department. “Chipotle certainly had a reputation as a business with strong processes and controls in place. I think it’s been eye-opening for everyone to see them struggle with these issues.”

The Denver-based Mexican food chain is under criminal investigation after more than 200 people were sickened in a norovirus outbreak at one of its California restaurants. The company’s stock price has dropped more than 40 percent since early October in the wake of the problems.

In the California case, health records obtained by Food Safety News showed that a Simi Valley restaurant where patrons were sickened had health inspection violations that included an employee’s cellphone placed on the food preparation tables, cooked beef held at temperatures below 135 degrees, fruit flies near the soda and recycling stations, and employees that did not possess a valid food handler card.

Since 2014, Chipotle’s 13 Denver locations have been cited 77 times for safety violations for an average of just under six per restaurant.

The three Illegal Pete’s restaurants in the city averaged just over 22 safety violations per restaurant in the past two years. Noodles locations averaged about nine violations over that span and Qdoba just under seven.

By comparison, the 27 Denver McDonald’s stores had an average of about 5.5 violations per store since 2014.

Pete Turner, founder and president of Illegal Pete’s, said the Chipotle outbreaks spurred the company to renew efforts to protect customers — and itself.

“We gathered the troops and said, ‘Look, man, if this can happen to Chipotle, a $20 billion company, they can handle that. But we can’t,’ ” Turner said .

Illegal Pete’s hired a new chief operating officer in November who was chosen in part to implement better safety practices and avoid violations, Turner said. The chain also is focusing on its food sources — identified as one of Chipotle’s main problems — and improving employee training.

“We’re taking it to a level we’ve never done before, and we plan on taking it further,” Turner said.

Mary Orlando, vice president of western region operations for Broomfield-based Noodles & Company, said the chain was working to improve food safety long before the issue came into the public eye.

Orlando said Noodles took steps including hiring a third party to perform regular inspections, mandating produce washing protocols and that all food items pass strict shelf-life tests, and enforcing strict cooking time and temperature requirements. She pointed out that none of the restaurants cited by Denver inspectors were forced to close because of guest illness.

“We will continue to be relentless in addressing and correcting any violations and issues that may arise,” Orlando said.

Representatives for Lakewood-based Qdoba did not return messages seeking comment.

Lane Drager, consumer protection coordinator for Boulder County Public Health, says fast-casual chains face food safety issues that their fast-food brethren do not. Balancing the preparation of uncooked meats and trying to serve a high volume of customers can create problems, he said.

“When you’re real busy, you don’t always have time to wash your hands or be careful with how you are handling food,” Drager said.

And while large food-related illness outbreaks are rare, when they do happen they can be deadly.

“When really bad things happen, that’s what drives large attention (toward) these issues,” Drager said, “as opposed to being proactive.”

Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or @JesseAPaul