SEATTLE — Chris Collins has always been selective about where he goes out for a meal. He said he respected Chipotle for its food integrity and animal welfare policies.
But a week after being treated at a hospital for severe intestinal distress, Collins no longer considers the Denver-based casual Mexican restaurant a safe choice.
Collins was one of at least 40 people in Oregon and Washington state to be sickened with E. coli in an outbreak linked to the popular chain.
“The reality is there was waste in my food. Something I can never be able to tell unless I got sick,” he said. “For me, it doesn’t seem to make sense to take that risk again.”
Collins decided to speak about his experience after reading comments in the news media and social media and concluding that people didn’t understand the severity of E. coli.
He also wanted people to understand how many things could go wrong in a restaurant and result in customers getting sick.
Washington state and Oregon health officials are testing fresh food from the 10 Chipotle restaurants associated with the E. coli outbreak, hoping to find evidence that leads them to what sickened its customers. So far, their best guess is the bacteria will be found on fresh produce such as lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro or onions, or possibly spices.
Chipotle voluntarily closed more than 40 restaurants in Oregon and Washington state when alerted by health officials of the E. coli outbreak.
State officials say Chipotle has been cooperating with their investigation. The company says it is doing some testing of its own to find out whether it has a problem in its food-supply chain.
Two weeks after Collins ate a Chipotle chicken bowl with brown rice, black beans, tomato salsa, cheese and guacamole on the side, the active 32-year-old has missed nearly two weeks of work and still isn’t feeling great.
“I feel like I’m getting there,” he said. “I’m still having some discomfort when I eat. I still feel very fatigued.”
Collins has contacted an attorney to talk about his options but has not decided whether he will file a lawsuit.
“I’m not dying at this point,” he said. “It was a very traumatic and difficult week and a half for me. I think I can be patient and see what happens.”
