Restaurant’s supply chain has been called into question after six different outbreaks of foodborne illness since July. Share on Pinterest The Cleveland Circle Chipotle Mexican Grill in Brighton, Massachusetts, is a popular late-night spot for Boston College students. In early December, Griffin Carney’s roommate ate there and got sick with what was first diagnosed as E. coli. Once he began feeling a bit better, the roommate began socializing with others in their dormitory. “Then they [student health services] told him it was the norovirus,” Carney told Healthline. “When we heard that, we scrubbed everything.” But norovirus — the leading cause of illness and contaminated food outbreaks in the United States — had already spread and infected three of the eight men in the same dorm room, causing intense bouts of vomiting. “It was the Wednesday before finals and I was deathly sick,” Carney, a sophomore studying biology, said. Carney was one of the 141 Boston College students who contracted the norovirus related to the Chipotle restaurant near the college. The norovirus, which kills an estimated 200,000 people worldwide each year, is passed by an infected person, contaminated food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces. Following the outbreak, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health closed the Chipotle location on Dec. 7. It reopened more than two weeks later. While he ate at that particular restaurant many times, Carney said he hasn’t gone back, although other students continue to eat there. “After all this, I’m sure it’s the cleanest and safest location,” Carney, who has eaten at a different Chipotle since being sick, said. “They’re on a tight leash.” But experts told Healthline contaminants such as the norovirus can be easily transmitted in restaurants by workers as well as customers, even with safety precautions in place. Read More: Get the Facts on Food Poisoning »

Chipotle Linked to 500 Cases The Brighton outbreak was the latest of six separate outbreaks of norovirus or E. coli to infect customers at the burrito chain restaurant. About 500 peoplehave been sickened since July at various Chipotle restaurants. According to the latest report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 53 of the victims have been sickened in nine states from a form of E. coli that produces a toxin that can cause kidney damage. While 20 were hospitalized, no one has died. The CDC is also investigating another outbreak of E. coli 026 at other Chipotle locations in November. The five sickened customers say they ate at Chipotle in either Kansas or Oklahoma. While the outbreak is considered over, the company continues to deal with the fallout. In the aftermath of dozens of locations being closed, cleaned, and reopened, Chipotle is under criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations following the norovirus outbreak in Simi Valley, California. The criminal case stems from how the company handled its food, which spurred debate about the safety of Chipotle’s ingredients sourced from smaller local farms. Because of the outbreaks, Chipotle announced new safety measures to be included in their supply chain, including safety testing, food handling, and contaminant screening. Chipotle founder and co-CEO Steve Ells has been accused of allowing the chain to grow too quickly for food safety measures to keep up. Ells has defended Chipotle’s mission to use local and sustainable ingredients when possible. “I don’t think so. If you look at the quality of our ingredients over time, we’ve made great strides in sourcing better quality foods: meats without antibiotics or growth hormones, more organics, more local, and sustainably raised foods,” he told Today’s Matt Lauer last month. “This was a very unfortunate incident and I’m truly sorry this happened, but the procedures that were put in place today are so above industry norms that we are going to be the safest place to eat.” Chipotle’s stocks dropped by 40 percent over the last three months of 2015. The company’s investors filed a lawsuit accusing company leaders of failing to implement sufficient safety measures, causing huge shareholder losses.