Past few weeks were terrible for Denver headquartered Chipotle Mexican Grill as E. coli outbreak linked to the company sickened many people in a number of states. Food-borne illness linked to Chipotle’s restaurants has also lowered the company’s sales forecasts. Instead of eating humble pie, CFO Jack Hartung is in defensive mode.

The CFO said some sensational headlines given by media have hurt the company and its reputation. Chipotle executives also said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) used ‘unusual and unorthodox’ reporting methods against the company.

Chipotle executives even said that they will not surprise in near future if there are some more negative reports appear against the company. Media has decided to link Chipotle and E. coli even if a person sneezes, the executives added. Instead of apologizing, the company announced it will not plan any customer marketing until the CDC closes the case.

Chairman and co-CEO Steve Ells said, “When the case is finally closed, Chipotle plans to send customers discounts via direct mail, take out full-page letters in newspapers and do some critically-placed interviews to say, 'Hey, this is over, this is what we've done, we invite you back to our stores”.

According to Chipotle, just about 57% of its current customers know about the heath incident. It also admitted that the company has to do a little to do there. A survey of YouGov BrandIndex doesn’t support Chipotle’s figures. The company’s favorability ratings have dropped to all-time low, it showed.