Chipotle to pay record $25 million fine in food safety case

Chipotle Mexican Grill on Tuesday agreed to pay a $25 million fine after being charged with two counts of violating federal food guidelines by "adulterating food while held for sale after shipment in interstate commerce," federal prosecutors said.

Officials said this was the "largest fine ever imposed in a food safety case." The charges stemmed from multiple norovirus outbreaks that occurred from 2015 to 2018, which left more than 1,100 customers sick, prosecutors said. One outbreak in July 2018 in Powell, Ohio, was caused by "critical violations of the local food regulations, including those specific to time and temperature controls for lettuce and beans," prosecutors said. Over the span of eight days, 657 people who ate at the Chipotle became ill.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna said 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." The company said it has improved safety measures since the incidents, including "reducing the number of employees who come into contact with ingredients" and enacting "safeguards to minimize the risk that an ingredient is undercooked."

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