So, in addition to selling their soul in the hope that doing so will prevent risk, do they not grasp that being unable to explain the cause of the illnesses keeps people away?
I'd feel far more comfortable with Chipotle if they could definitively say, "It appears uncooked cilantro in our rice was harboring E. coli; we've changed how we prepare that item and believe the problem is fixed." Instead, we now have a nebulous "central kitchens work for other companies, so now we're doing it" solution. As little as I cared about their feel-good "local food" drumbeat, it bothers me that they turned away from that stance.
At the same time, I've not seen a slowing of the constant level of decline in cleanliness at the stores near me. When they were opened, they were shiny a new. Now, though, they've begun to attract a noticeable level of crud in the corners and other hard-to-clean areas like the perforated wooden wall boards. The kitchen areas look to have received a good once-over, but the stores show the abuse they've suffered under high-volume visits.
What if people aren't sick from bacteria in the food, but from a nasty colony on the underside of a table or chair or even wall leaned against while waiting to order food that is often eaten in handheld form? Does the food safety program encompass those areas too? If so, why doesn't it clearly show?
> do they not grasp that being unable to explain the cause of the illnesses keeps people away?
Well, yeah. I'm sure they do grasp that. They also grasp that there's no way of knowing what caused it, and that lying would be immoral and unwise.
> I'd feel far more comfortable with Chipotle if they could definitively say, "It appears uncooked cilantro in our rice was harboring E. coli; we've changed how we prepare that item and believe the problem is fixed."
The reality is that it was some bit of fresh produce, it could have happened to anyone, it does happen to everyone (McDs, Burger King, KFC, etc have all had E. coli outbreaks, and will again), and they've made some changes to reduce the risk, but not to zero because no kitchen in the world, private or corporate, has a zero risk of food-borne illnesses.
> What if people aren't sick from bacteria in the food
Then you'd see a radically different pattern of infections.
> Now, though, they've begun to attract a noticeable level of crud in the corners and other hard-to-clean areas like the perforated wooden wall boards.
Heh, I was wondering about it once waiting in line there. All those unpainted pipes, wood panels and corrugated galvanized steel must be fun to keep clean.
I guess that's the downside of wanting to look the opposite of McDonalds and White Castles with tiles everywhere. There is usually a reason why those places look like they do -- they easier to keep clean. Believe it or not White Castle despite its popular reputation for slimy burgers is one of the cleanest food chains (knew someone working for the insurance company which provides insurance for it).
Mos Burger in Japan has a similarly "rustic" decor but they're immaculate. It comes down to the pride and/or obligation that employees feel to keep the place clean. Hard to find in the USA, and relatively easy to find in Japan. It probably relates directly to the hygiene habits of the individuals themselves in their personal life.
Yeah, and Japanese fast food employees make the same or less unless you adjust for national healthcare and other social services, I suppose. It's definitely a subsistence wage here at best.
I've had Mos Burger many times (in other Asian countries) and it was always delicious, which is why I kept going back, but after most meals I felt nauseous. So not sure why I kept going back.
Isn't that asking the impossible though? From the way it's told in the article, Chipotle combed as exhaustively as they could through their ingredients in the immediate aftermath and as soon as possible, searching for the culprit. They probably knew that it was their only shot of owning the PR result. But since it takes several days for the illness to set in (four, in the case of the one guy they profiled), even an immediate reaction was too slow to have a hope of figuring out which ingredient caused the poisoning.
I'm an epidemiologist. Narrowing down a specific cause for something like this is often pretty difficult if not impossible, especially if there's also co-occuring illnesses (remember, one of the restaurant outbreaks was an unrelated norovirus, which happen).
Agreed that the lack of an explanation in spite of all the over-preparation. The reason people still eat bagged spinach is that, as far as I can remember, they managed to trace the last spinach E. coli outbreak down to a specific lot on a specific farm in California. At Chipotle they don't even know which ingredient it was.
Uncertainty has a strong influence on human behavior.
> Perhaps it was sabotage. Then there is no means of ever explaining it.
Their e-coli problems started soon after pledging to go GMO-free... The GMO-railroad might not have appreciated a little business taking a nail out of their tracks.
I'd feel far more comfortable with Chipotle if they could definitively say, "It appears uncooked cilantro in our rice was harboring E. coli; we've changed how we prepare that item and believe the problem is fixed." Instead, we now have a nebulous "central kitchens work for other companies, so now we're doing it" solution. As little as I cared about their feel-good "local food" drumbeat, it bothers me that they turned away from that stance.
At the same time, I've not seen a slowing of the constant level of decline in cleanliness at the stores near me. When they were opened, they were shiny a new. Now, though, they've begun to attract a noticeable level of crud in the corners and other hard-to-clean areas like the perforated wooden wall boards. The kitchen areas look to have received a good once-over, but the stores show the abuse they've suffered under high-volume visits.
What if people aren't sick from bacteria in the food, but from a nasty colony on the underside of a table or chair or even wall leaned against while waiting to order food that is often eaten in handheld form? Does the food safety program encompass those areas too? If so, why doesn't it clearly show?