CASE study 1Non-GMO, organic, locally sourced... these terms are now a common part of our food vocabulary, althoughnot typically associated with the fast-food industry. Chipotle entered the fast-food scene in the early 1990s witha seemingly impossible goal of creating a healthy fast-food alternative.88 Chipotle's promise of “food withintegrity includes fresh, locally sourced ingredients and naturally raised meats. They effectively met this promisefor many years, but as the popular fast-food chain has grown to more than 1,500 locations, the restaurant'sability to promise such quality while meeting food safety standards has become a challenge. Attempting todeliver on this promise on a national scale has created a complex and risky supply chain challenge for thecompany. Chipotle's food contamination problems started with an E. coli outbreak in July of 2015 in Seattle.Next was a norovirus outbreak in California, followed by salmonella in Minnesota. Other foodborne illnessesemerged among Chipotle customers in nine more states. Over the course of a few months, more than 500customers were sick from contaminated food in Chipotle stores across the country. Sales dropped 30 percentduring the outbreak, and several stores closed for an extended period of time. The company's stock valuedropped, and the company faced several lawsuits from customers who were sickened at one of the stores. Mostnational fast-food restaurant chains control food quality by using a central source for ingredients, exposing thesupply chain to fewer outside elements. Simply put, the more basic the food chain, the easier it is to control. Tokeep their fresh food promise, Chipotle sought to prepare as many foods as possible at the local stores. Theyalso sourced ingredients locally wherever possible, creating relationships with hundreds of vendors. Thecomplexity of their food sourcing, coupled with in-store food preparation, is most likely what caused the foodcontamination problem. There were no known specific negligent acts on the part of Chipotle; the problemsoccurred because offering fresh food on such a large scale creates a situation where quality control is difficult.In most cases Chipotle did not know which foods were contaminated, making the fix even more challenging. Inresponse to the crisis, they have implemented new controls to test for meat contamination and also changedsome food-handling and preparation procedures. They've shifted much of their food preparation to centralizedkitchens and started sourcing ingredients from fewer vendors, much like their fast-food competitors have donefor years. To kick off their new standards, Chipotle closed all of their stores for an afternoon to train employeesconsistently on the new food-handling standards. While it seems the company is moving in the right direction,critics suggest that a company that claims to focus so much on food quality should have done a better jobfocusing on food safety1. Why is it important for Chipotle to revise the company's food-handling standards?

It is significant for chipotle to revise the firm's food handling standards :

Non-GMO, organic, locally sourced ... these terms are now a common part of our food vocabulary, not typically associated with the fast-food industry. Chipotle entered the fast-food scene in the early 19 a seemingly impossible goal of creating a healthy fast-food alternative.88 Chipotle's promise of "fo integrity includes fresh, locally sourced ingredients and naturally raised meats. They effectively met this for many years, but as the popular fast-food chain has grown to more than 1,500 locations, the rest ability to promise such quality while meeting food safety standards has become a challenge. Attem deliver on this promise on a national scale has created a complex and risky supply chain challenge company. Chipotle's food contamination problems started with an E. coli outbreak in July of 2015 in Next was a norovirus outbreak in California, followed by salmonella in Minnesota. Other foodborne emerged among Chipotle customers in nine more states. Over the course of a few months, more customers were sick from contaminated food in Chipotle stores across the country. Sales dropped 30 during the outbreak, and several stores closed for an extended period of time. The company's sto dropped, and the company faced several lawsuits from customers who were sickened at one of the stor national fast-food restaurant chains control food quality by using a central source for ingredients, expe supply chain to fewer outside elements. Simply put, the more basic the food chain, the easier it is to co keep their fresh food promise, Chipotle sought to prepare as many foods as possible at the local stor also sourced ingredients locally wherever possible, creating relationships with hundreds of vend

12th Edition

ISBN:9781259929434

Author:William Nickels

Publisher:William Nickels

Chapter1: Taking Risks And Making Profits Within The Dynamic Business Environment

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 1CE