Chipotle goes GMO-free
The food chain moved to using only non-GMO ingredients to make all of the food served in its U.S. restaurants.
The company is currently developing new recipes for its tortillas, the only food items on its menu that include any artificial additives.
“There is a lot of debate about genetically modified foods,” said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle.
“Though many countries have already restricted or banned the use of GMO crops, it’s clear that a lot of research is still needed before we can truly understand all of the implications of widespread GMO cultivation and consumption. While that debate continues, we decided to move to non-GMO ingredients.”
GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, are crops that have had specific changes introduced to their DNA that don’t occur naturally, using the science of genetic engineering.
Chipotle suppliers planted non-GMO corn varieties to meet Chipotle’s needs for corn tortillas, and the company replaced soybean oil with sunflower oil to cook its chips and taco shells, and with rice bran oil for other recipes and uses, the company said.
Both oils are extracted from crops for which there are no commercially available genetically modified varieties. Other GMO ingredients in tortillas were replaced with non-GMO alternatives.
Chipotle’s move did not result in significantly higher ingredient costs for the company, and it did not raise prices resulting from its move to non-GMO ingredients, the company said.
“We are changing the way people think about and eat fast food, and that means cooking with the very best ingredients – ingredients that are free of additives – but still serving food that is affordable, convenient, and most importantly delicious,” said Ells.
“That’s really unusual in fast food, but that’s the quest we are on, and we continue to make progress."
