Chipotle will pay a record $25 million fine after more than 1,100 people in the U.S. were sickened with norovirus from 2015 to 2018.
The fast-casual restaurant chain is well-known in the agriculture world for its controversial marketing messages about the industry.
The company was charged with two counts of violating the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by serving food that caused four outbreaks of norovirus—a virus that causes severe vomiting and diarrhea.
Chipotle admitted poor safety practices, such as keeping food at incorrect temperatures, sickened customers in California, as well as Massachusetts, Virginia and Ohio.
The norovirus outbreaks came shortly before an E. coli outbreak at Chipotle spread to multiple states, although the criminal charges did not include the E. coli outbreak.
“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,” U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna said in a statement.
