In the past year, the popularity of the Mexican food chain Chipotle has soared, with millions of people across the nation enjoying Chipotle’s delicious burritos. Basking Ridge is no exception, as the Chipotle in town has become a place for numerous Ridge students to dine regularly.

However, in late October, during the peak of the local restaurant’s popularity, Chipotle closed 43 locations in Washington after finding strains of E. coli in their ingredients. This first outbreak of E. coli generated a wave of panic across the nation, with consumers wondering, “Is the food I’m eating safe?”

Soon after the first E. coli outbreak, a second strain was identified in late November and early December. This strain, linked to Chipotle locations in California, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Illinois, and Maryland, affected at least 53 people. As of December 22nd, the FDA identified five new cases of the strain, linked to two specific restaurants in Kansas and Oklahoma. Overall, the outbreaks sickened at least 500 people in the United States.

In November, the company apologized for the outbreaks of E. coli, hired food safety consultants, tweaked cooking methods, and announced that it would temporarily close all its stores on February 8th for a company-wide food safety meeting. However, with an investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still underway, customers continue to scratch their heads, wondering why Chipotle has not yet identified the source of the contamination.

Students at Ridge have mixed loyalties to Chipotle. Many fear eating there, unwilling to risk becoming sick. Anina Ku ‘18 comments, “Since the E. coli scare, I haven’t gone to Chipotle. It’s not worth the risk to buy food you can make at home.” On the other hand, others are not fazed by the recent health concerns and continue to enjoy Chipotle burritos.

A loyal customer, Allen Wang ‘19 asserts, “The recent news regarding E. coli in Chipotle’s food has not bothered me at all. Their food is too delicious.” Another student unperturbed by the outbreaks, Dilara Shahani ‘18, mentions, “Chipotle is a great place to eat because it’s close to where I live, inexpensive, quick, and pretty healthy for a chain restaurant. The E. coli scare did prevent me from going to Chipotle for a bit, but I just went about a week ago, and it was great. I could tell they were being very careful with sanitation and overall nothing has changed. I still love their food and the restaurant.”

Although many consumers still worry about the safety of Chipotle’s food, the company has assured the public that it is doing everything possible to identify the source of the contamination. Chris Arnold, communications director for Chipotle, insists that “the costs related to this [closing stores during lunch hours] are not our highest priority. Our priority is establishing Chipotle as the industry leader in food safety, and our employees play a key role in that.”

As a result, Chipotle has released lists of their new safety practices, including testing ingredients’ DNA, more thoroughly washing ingredients, replacing ingredients, extensively training employees, and providing paid sick leave to dissuade sick employees from coming into work. Chipotle’s E. coli outbreaks have increased food standards for restaurant chains everywhere; many companies are gaining awareness regarding the integrity of their food in order to ensure the safety for their customers. While some remain reluctant to return to Chipotle, many commend the food chain for taking measures in order to solve the issue as quickly as possible.