Chipotle Served In Criminal Investigation Following Norovirus Outbreak
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Chipotle says it has been served with a federal grand jury subpoena as part of a criminal investigation tied to a norovirus outbreak this summer at one of its restaurants in California.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California in conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday.
Chipotle Mexican Grill says the subpoena requires it to produce a "broad range'' of documents.
The Denver company has been reeling since an E. coli outbreak linked to its restaurants. The initial October 2015 outbreak forced Chipotle to close 43 locations in Oregon and Washington, which have since reopened. The outbreak later spread to locations in other states -- including California, Minnesota, Ohio and New York.
The E. Coli outbreak was followed by a separate norovirus outbreak in Boston.
Earlier in 2015, the company ran into trouble after suspending a pork supplier that violated its animal welfare standards. That led to a shortage of carnitas at hundreds of locations around the country, which the company said dampened its sales growth.
Chipotle says it expects sales for the fourth quarter to be down 14.6 percent.
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