Chipotle’s latest ad shows print apology is still a thing

Published 12:00 am Thursday, December 17, 2015

The power of the printed press lives on, at least as long as corporations continue to seek customer forgiveness with full-page ads.

Chipotle was the latest to say it’s sorry Wednesday through a full-page ad in 61 newspapers around the U.S. The ad, an open letter from CEO Steve Ells, expressed remorse over the recent outbreaks of food-related illnesses at Chipotle and outlined steps forward in improving food safety.

Ells lamented the recent “E. coli outbreak that sickened 52 people and a norovirus outbreak that sickened approximately 140 people at a single Chipotle restaurant in Boston.”

“The fact that anyone has become ill eating at Chipotle is completely unacceptable to me and I am deeply sorry,” Ells said in the letter.

From there, he pivoted to the company’s attempt to fix the problem through a new comprehensive food safety program that assesses risk throughout the supply chain. The program will test many ingredients for contaminants, said Ells, who called it “unprecedented” in the restaurant industry.

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