Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., seeking to recover from an E. coli crisis that dragged down sales and profit, will start a program aimed at helping suppliers maintain food-safety standards.
Chipotle is spending around $10 million to fund the effort, co-Chief Executive Officer Steve Ells said during a meeting with employees on Monday. The money will be accustomed to help local farmers counterbalance the costs of recent tests and food-safety protocols, he said.
“The cash will be used to provide safety support and education that’s essential to meet our standards,” he explained inside a clip that was broadcast via the Periscope app.
Chipotle has been struggling to regain its footing following an E. coli outbreak that sickened dozens and brought focus on previous cases of customers getting sick. The crisis has battered Chipotle stock price and crushed its sales, which dropped 36 percent in January.
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Chipotle has apologized for making customers ill and updated its protocols, saying the changes can make the restaurant chain an industry leader in food safety. The company has insisted that it can regain its sales and margins, having a marketing pitch targeted at luring customers to its restaurants slated to start this month.
The U.S. Cdc and Prevention recently announced its investigation in to the E. coli outbreak had concluded, briefly giving investors hope the worst was behind Chipotle. However the chain also faces a criminal probe that comes from a norovirus outbreak in August at certainly one of its restaurants in California.
Chipotle temporarily closed all its stores on Monday to carry the ending up in employees. They’re scheduled to reopen at 3 p.m. local time.
Bloomberg News
