On August 21, 2015, the Ventura County Environmental Health Division (VCEHD) was notified about a growing number of patrons of the Simi Valley Chipotle restaurant who were reporting food borne illnesses. The majority of these individuals had eaten at the Simi Valley Chipotle on August 18th and 19th. Investigators from VCEHD immediately called the Ventura County Public Health Division (VCPHD) and together they worked to confirm that the Simi Valley Chipotle food establishment was, in fact, the source of the food borne illness outbreak. As the number of complaints continued to rise, it became more and more certain that the Simi Valley Chipotle was at the center of the outbreak.
One central component in the investigation included efforts to track down any employee illnesses. Investigators contacted Chipotle’s corporate office and quickly identified a large number of employee illnesses – the current count of those who became ill during the outbreak period is 18 (stool samples were taken and 7 of the 18 were still positive for norovirus).
Chipotle closed its doors, following the notification, discarded remaining food, and brought in new food and staff after thoroughly cleaning the establishment. As of today, September 3rd, VCPHD has identified 80 restaurant patrons, bringing the number of ill (along with employees) to 98.
Ventura County Public Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin stated: “Norovirus is a very contagious virus. You can get norovirus from an infected person, contaminated food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces. The virus causes your stomach or intestines or both to get inflamed. This leads to stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.” “The fact that it is so easy to get,” says national food safety lawyer Ron Simon, who represents many of the victims in this outbreak, “is one of the reasons it is so important to follow safe and well-founded food preparation and storage practices.” Simon added “we will continue to look at what went wrong so we can help ensure that it does not happen again.” For more information about the Chipotle Norovirus Outbreak, call 1-888-335-4901.
