Chipotle closes all stores nationwide to host food safety meeting
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Chipotle is closing all of its stores Monday to chat about food safety, a move the company announced it would take in the wake of recent food-poisoning outbreaks at the restaurant chain.
The meeting is set to run about four hours starting at 11 a.m. and running until about 3 p.m.
Chipotle CEO Steve Ells will lead the meeting and field questions from employees. The company was also expected to outline a new “farm-to-fork” food safety program that was first implemented back in January.
The program includes paid sick leave, to ensure that workers stay home when they’re sick, and requires DNA-based testing of ingredients before they’re shipped out to restaurants.
It also calls for a few other changes, including washing and cutting tomatoes and romaine lettuce and shredding cheese in central kitchens instead of individual restaurants.
Additionally, it requires the blanching of avocados, onions and limes. They’re also trying out new methods to marinate chicken and steak.
The meeting – which will be broadcast live and live-tweeted – is set to take place at Chipotle’s headquarters in Denver.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 55 people became sick in 11 states due to a E. coli outbreak linked to Chipotle. A second, smaller outbreak sickened five people in three states. The most recent illness reported to the agency started on Dec. 1, 2015.
