XPost: alt.business, ba.food, alt.california.illegals   
   XPost: talk.politics.misc   
   From: tyler@facts.org   
      
   The restaurant manager and the head cook were BOTH sick,   
   spraying from both ends, and they continued working in violation   
   of federal law.   
      
   A class-action lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday accuses   
   Chipotle of trying to cover up a norovirus outbreak that   
   sickened at least 234 people who ate at the Mexican fast food   
   restaurant in Simi Valley, California.   
      
   The lawsuit, which seeks a trial by jury and unspecified   
   damages, was filed Tuesday on behalf of six Grace Bretheren   
   School students and one parent who fell ill after eating at   
   Chipotle's Simi Valley location in August.   
      
   According to the lawsuit, a kitchen manager suffered   
   gastorintestinal symptoms while at work Aug. 18 but allegedly   
   continued handling and preparing food until he saw a doctor Aug.   
   20 and was diagnosed with norovirus.   
      
   That day, Chipotle shuttered its Simi Valley restaurant and   
   enacted its "Norwalk Protocol," a procedure initiated when at   
   least two customers complain of foodborne illness symptoms. The   
   restaurant's corporate office, however, did not immediately   
   contact health officials or customers, the lawsuit alleges.   
      
   "Chipotle chose instead to try and conceal all evidence of the   
   outbreak by disposing of all food items, bleaching all cooking   
   and food handling surfaces and replacing its sick employees with   
   replacement employees from other restaurants before notifying   
   county health officials of the outbreak," the suit claims.   
      
   The manager of the Ventura County Environmental Health   
   Division's food safety program is quoted as saying authorities   
   "didn't have the opportunity to sample food or do some of the   
   things we normally do to investigate a foodborne illness   
   outbreak."   
      
   The lawsuit alleges Chipotle tried to cover up the outbreak   
   because it was also dealing with "another public relations   
   disaster" linked to a foodborne illness outbreak in Minnesota   
   and "wanted to protect its stock price from plummeting by   
   putting corporate profits ahead of public health and safety."   
      
   Chipotle spokesperson Chris Arnold declined to comment on the   
   lawsuit Wednesday morning, saying in an email to NBC, "As a   
   matter of policy, we do not discuss details surrounding pending   
   legal actions."   
      
   Arnold added, however, that Chipotle "took all appropriate   
   actions when this incident began, including reporting it to   
   health officials in Ventura County." The lawsuit claims Chipotle   
   waited to report the outbreak.   
      
   The chain's founder and CEO, Steve Ells, told the "Today" show   
   last month he was "deeply sorry" for outbreaks of norovirus and   
   E. coli that have plagued customers around the country over the   
   past several months. He vowed to make Chipotle "the safest   
   restaurant to eat at."   
      
   Ells said in a statement Tuesday the chain has "been   
   implementing an enhanced food safety plan that will establish   
   Chipotle as an industry leader in food safety." He said much of   
   the plan is already in place, adding that food suppliers are   
   also subject to rigorous, "unprecedented" safety standards.   
      
   Last year's norovirus in Simi Valley came on the heels of a   
   salmonella outbreak linked to tomatoes in Minnesota. E. coli   
   connected to Chipotle sickened dozens of people in nine states   
   last November, and five more cases were reported in December.   
      
   Also last month, 141 college students contracted norovirus at a   
   Chipotle restaurant in Boston, prompting a Massachusetts woman   
   to sue on behalf of her son, who fell ill.   
      
   Federal officials recently launched a criminal investigation   
   into the restaurant chain and Chipotle was subpoenaed shortly   
   after.   
      
   The company has announced plans to launch a new marketing   
   campaign in February and will close restaurants nationwide for   
   three hours Feb. 8 to brief employees on food safety.   
      
   http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/national-international/Chipotle-   
   Federal-Class-Action-Lawsuit-Simi-Valley-California-Norovirus-   
   Outbreak-365891221.html   
       
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)