Bad Publicity for Chipotle Mexican Grill and for Foods Processed with Hexane

I said to my husband, "I need to take a photo of a Chipotle restaurant for my Shelf Life Advice article about the Chipotle outbreaks.  Come with me, and we'll have lunch there, my treat."

Here's what my courageous spouse responded: "No thanks."  Lots of other folks around the country have made a similar response since hundreds of people suffered from foodborne illnesses caused by unidentified sources of contamination served at some units of this fast food chain.

Both Chipotle and a compound called hexane have been subjected to a great deal of bad publicity.  It seems that the popular Mexican grill deserved it. Hexane, on the other hand, is not a menace to public health, at least not in the opinions of two scientists who serve on our site's Advisory Board.  Let's look into both these major news stories.

CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL

Chipotle Mexican Grill, a Denver-based restaurant chain, has more than 1,900 locations around the U.S.  Looking for a nearby facility to photograph was a snap.  I found about four right in my neighborhood (a suburb just north of Chicago).  Chipotle restaurants are fast food places with a menu of Mexican specialties including design-your-own burritos, tacos, and bowls. 

From October, 2015 to February 1, 2016 (when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the Chipotle outbreaks appeared to be over), about 200 people were sickened by Chipotle food. The illnesses spanned the country, with at least 80 victims in the Boston area (including at least 8 members of the Boston College basketball team).  States in the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest were also hit by Chipotle "bugs." About 20 hospitalizations resulted, although there were no deaths associated with these various outbreaks. The outbreaks left behind these questions: What caused them? What is the company doing to assure the public that Chipotle food won't sicken customers in the future?

What caused the outbreaks?  Who or what is to blame?

Perhaps suppliers who didn't know enough about food safety were partly to blame. And some blame goes to at least one employee who was too casual about keeping his/her hands clean or who came to work sick. Another cause could be unclean equipment. According to the New York Times, meat held at an improper temperature may also be the culprit. Chipotle doesn't have all the answers.

 Investigators did determine that three different germs--norovirus, E. coli, and salmonella--caused these outbreaks. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness outbreaks, is widespread and can be transmitted by an infected person as well as by contaminated food.

But, customers wonder, contamination of which food?  Impossible to say, but Chipotle co-CEO Steve Ellis believes it was bacteria in fresh food, perhaps tomatoes or cilantro. Because Chipotle uses fresh produce and meats (not frozen), and because the company uses traditional cooking methods rather than automation, the chain may be at higher risk for contamination.

Is local always better?

Chipotle takes pride in using local suppliers, and that emphasis pleases their customers who support the "buy local" movement. However, food scientist Dr. Joe Regenstein (one of this site's Advisory Board members) made this point:  "I think this well illustrates the issues of local purchasing in general. Chipotle is now going back and tightening its rules, which probably will preclude many of the smaller farms they purchased from."  The company agrees, saying that some of their suppliers may not be able to handle their new, more rigorous standards.  However, the FDA, which has investigated some of Chipotle's suppliers, has not found evidence that any of those investigated was the source of an outbreak.

How much did these outbreaks cost the company?

Here are some statistics gleaned from Chicago Tribune articles listed in the sources below:

Ÿ Sales at established stores decreased 30% in December, 2015.

Ÿ Total visits fell about 5% during the 4th quarter, when most of the outbreaks occurred.  The same time period the preceding year had a gain of 19%. 

ŸThe chain closed out 2015 with its first quarterly decline in revenue since going public in 2006. It's still off almost 40 percent from when the crisis began in October. (Reported on February 4, 2016)

What has been done and will be done to make Chipotle's  food safer?

In early November, Chipotle temporarily closed 43 facilities in Washington and Oregon and put them through deep cleaning. They also replaced all ingredients in the closed restaurants.  Plans are to temporarily close and conduct deep cleaning and sanitation of all of its restaurants.

On February 8th, Chipotle closed its restaurants from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in order to  educate employees about food safety and chain's new procedures.  This meeting and the publicity attached to it were also, no doubt, part of the company's attempt to reassure its customers nationwide their food was safe to consume.

At this meeting, co-CEO Steve Ellis announced that the company would invest as much as 10 million dollars on its initiative to help its smaller suppliers produce safer meat and fresh vegetables. Despite this major investment, he admitted that the company may be forced to discontinue using locally sourced produce that does not meet the rigorous new safety standards.

Chipotle also announced that it will do the following:

 Ÿ Conduct DNA testing on all ingredients before shipping them to restaurants;

Ÿ Test ingredients near the end of their shelf life for acceptable quality;

Ÿ Improve employee training on proper food handling and food safety;

Ÿ Chipotle is also tweaking its cooking methods.  For example, onions will be dipped in boiling water before they are chopped, raw chicken will be marinated in re-sealable plastic bags rather than bowls, and cilantro will be added to freshly cooked rice so that heat kills the microbes in the garnish. 

Here's Dr. Regenstein's advice for Chipotle: "They need to train more people in ServSafe (A National Restaurant Association program). And they need to do more central processing."

And here's a quirky note on the Chipotle story: In late 2015, when Chipotle outbreaks were frequently reported on the nightly news, teenagers and young adults (the largest groups of Chipotle customers) "increased their Chipotle visits by double digits," said a February 2, 2016 Chicago Tribune  article.  The article went on to say that a restaurant industry analyst attributed young customers' lack of concern about food safety to either "unabashed loyalty or a lack of awareness." 

Regretfully, my husband and I are no longer clueless teens or fearless young adults, so we're postponing our lunch at Chipotle to give the chain time to implement all those excellent improvements they've promised to make. 

There's an ironic twist to the Chipotle story, and it was expressed very well by Chicago Tribune columnist Phil Rosenthal: "This is a chain that somehow made many people consider 1,000-calorie burritos bulging with sodium and cholesterol healthy." Delicious, yes.  But do customers still believe that a Chipotle meal is good for them? 

HEXANE

Where there's smoke, there's fire, which means, some would say, where there's bad publicity, there must be something bad going on. But the hexane story seems to indicate otherwise.

Exactly what is hexane?  According to dictionary.com. it is "a colorless flammable liquid derived from the fractional distillation of petroleum. It is used as a solvent and in low-temperature thermometers."

According to Mother Jones, "most non-organic veggie burgers on the market are made with hexane, an EPA-registered air pollutant and neurotoxin."  I also  found the following anti-hexane article online: http://www.cornucopia.org/2010/11/dirty-little-secret-in-the-natural-foods-industry-toxic-chemical-use/ 

So what's this poisonous stuff doing in our food?  Well, it isn't exactly in food, at least not when we eat it.  Here's how two scientists who serve on the Shelf Life Advice Advisory Board explain the situation:

Dr. Joe Regenstein:  "Hexane is not dangerous in food.  It is volatile and can be driven off."

Dr. Timothy Bowser, food process engineer:  "Hexane is not dangerous if the food is processed properly.  Hexane is an organic compound commonly used to extract oil from seeds (such as canola, cotton, soy, and corn).   Hexane oil extraction is a very efficient process. Most of the oil we consume in the U.S. has been extracted from seeds using a hexane process. Since the boiling point of hexane is so different from food oils, it is easy to separate the hexane from the oil." But Dr. Bowser also points out that experiments using other hydrocarbons, such as propane, are ongoing to achieve the same end.  "Propane extraction processes occur at a lower temperature than hexane processes, and propane is known to be safer." 

It seems that, by the time you eat your veggie burger, the hexane is gone. So the next time someone tells you to discard your dangerous non-organic veggie burgers, recommend that they dine at a Chipotle restaurant that hasn't yet been deep-cleaned and sanitized.

Source(s):

Timothy J. Bowser, Ph.D. , Oklahoma State University, Dept. of Biosystems and  Agricultural   Engineering

Joe Regenstein, Ph.D., Cornell University, Dept. of Food Science

Chicago Tribune, "Chipotle E. coli case in Illinois as company raises food safety standards," December 4, 2015.

The New York Times, "Chipotle's Safety Woes Worsen as Scores of Students Fall Ill in Boston," Dec. 8, 2015. 

fda.gov, "FDA Investigates Multistate Outbreak of E. coli 026 Infections Linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurants," February 1, 2016.

http://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/Outbreaks/ucm470410.htm

Chicago Tribune, "CDC: Chipotle-linked E. coli outbreak appears to be at an

end," February 2, 2016.

Chicago Tribune, "Chipotle seeks to close door on crisis," by Phil Rosenthal, February 4, 2016

Chicago Tribune, "Chipotle will invest up to $10M to help suppliers with food safety," February 9, 2016.

Chicago Tribune,  (Associated Press) "CDC says more E. coli cases linked to Chipotle," December 21, 2015.