When’s the best time to try Chipotle for the first time? After it sickens scores of Americans with various gastrointestinal ailments, obviously. Dave Bry reports from the frontlines
I just returned from what may well have been, unless I’m forgetting something from 20 years ago, the single most dangerous assignment I’ve ever accepted during my career in journalism: I ate lunch at Chipotle.
You’ve probably read about why that felt so risky. The overtly eco-conscious, locally sourced national food chain has suffered a string of contamination outbreaks over the past six months: E coli sickened 52 people across nine states,64 people contracted salmonella in Minnesota and, most recently, a whopping 141 Boston College students were infected with norovirus after eating at a Chipotle on campus. Forty-three locations shut down last month due to the E coli scare, and despite co-CEO’s Steve Ell’s promises to make Chipotle “the safest place to eat”, the Denver-based company’s stock has plunged 25%.
I asked for the hottest salsa available, hoping the habanero peppers might kill any virus or bacteria hiding in my food
'I used to work on a cruise ship,' she said. 'People got norovirus all the time. It happens'
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