Chipotle paying $25M to settle charges over outbreaks of foodborne illness

Fast-casual chain restaurant Chipotle Mexican Grill has agreed to pay a record $25 million fine to settle criminal charges over a string of foodborne illnesses that infected more than 1,100 customers between 2015 and 2018.

The restaurant chain was charged with adulterating food in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. By agreeing to a three-year deferred prosecution agreement, implementing an improved food safety program and paying $25 million — the largest fine ever for a food safety case — Chipotle can avoid conviction.

“Chipotle failed to ensure that its employees both understood and complied with its food safety protocols, resulting in hundreds of customers across the country getting sick,” Nick Hanna, U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said in a statement.

He added, “Today’s steep penalty, coupled with the tens of millions of dollars Chipotle already has spent to upgrade its food safety program since 2015, should result in greater protections for Chipotle customers and remind others in the industry to review and improve their own health and safety practices.”

According to the deferred prosecution agreement, the company was involved in five separate outbreaks of foodborne illnesses between 2015 and 2018, including an outbreak of norovirus, a highly infectious pathogen that can cause severe diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain.