Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. CMG, -0.73% will pay $25 million to settle criminal charges related to the food-borne illness outbreaks that sickened more than 1,100 people between 2015 and 2018, according to a statement from the Justice Department. It's the largest-ever food safety fine, according to the announcement. "Chipotle failed to ensure that its employees both understood and complied with its food safety protocols, resulting in hundreds of customers across the country getting sick," said U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna for the Central District of California. "Today's steep penalty, coupled with the tens of millions of dollars Chipotle already has spent to upgrade its food safety program since 2015, should result in greater protections for Chipotle customers and remind others in the industry to review and improve their own health and safety practices." Chipotle also agreed to a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) that will allow it to avoid conviction if it complies with improvements to its food safety program. According to the DPA, Chipotle agrees that it was implicated in at least five outbreaks tied to restaurants in the Los Angeles area, Boston, Virginia and Ohio. In a July 2018 case, 647 people who ate at an Ohio location reported illness from a pathogen that grows quickly when food is not kept at the proper temperature. Some employees also reported that they were pressured to work while sick. Chipotle stock has rallied 12.3% over the past year while the S&P 500 index SPX, -1.15% is down nearly 6% for the period.