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Chipotle paying $25M to settle federal food-safety case

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April 22, 2020

Editor's note: Updated with comments from Chipotle at 9:42 EST.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. has agreed to pay a $25 million criminal fine and implement a comprehensive food-safety program to resolve criminal charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Central District of California. The charges include two counts of violating the U.S. Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, stemming from the illnesses of more than 1,100 people across the United States from 2015 to 2018.

The criminal charges are related to outbreaks in Chipotle restaurants of norovirus, a contagious pathogen that can be easily transmitted by infected food workers handling ready-to-eat foods and their ingredients, United States Attorney Nick Hanna, said in the release. Norovirus can cause severe symptoms, including diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal cramping

Prosecutors filed a deferred prosecution agreement or DPA in which Chipotle agreed to pay $25 million — the largest fine ever imposed in a food-safety case.

"This settlement represents an acknowledgment of how seriously Chipotle takes food safety every day and is an opportunity to definitively turn the page on past events and focus on serving our customers real food made with real ingredients that they can enjoy with confidence," Chipotle CEO and Chairman Brian Niccol said in a company press release.

Since 2015, Chipotle has introduced specific food safety policies and procedures to enhance its existing practices based upon a farm-to-fork safety and quality review of each ingredient, Kerry Bridges, VP of Food Safety, said in the release.

"Over the last four years, we instituted several enhancements to our food preparation and food handling practices to lower the risk of foodborne illnesses, Bridges said. These measures include reducing the number of employees who come into contact with ingredients, safeguards to minimize the risk that an ingredient is undercooked and sophisticated microbiological testing of raw ingredients to help ensure quality and safety before they are shipped to restaurants.

Chipotle also traces the movement of each ingredient in our supply chain, Kerry said. 

"If an ingredient does not meet our high standards, we can quickly determine when and where the problem occurred and swiftly remove it before it enters our restaurants," he said. 

Hanna said the 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 customers and remind others in the industry to review and improve their own health and safety practices.

In the DPA, Chipotle agreed to develop and follow a comprehensive food safety compliance program. As part of this program, Chipotle will work with its Food Safety Council to evaluate, among other things, the company's food safety audits, restaurant staffing and employee training to mitigate the issues that led to the outbreaks from 2015 to 2018. If the company complies with the deferred prosecution agreement for three years, the government will move to dismiss the criminal information.

"This case highlights why it is important for restaurants and members of the food services industry to ensure that managers and employees consistently follow food safety policies," Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department of Justice's Civil Division said in the release. "The Department of Justice will vigorously enforce food safety laws in order to protect public health."