Chipotle To Stop Using Genetically Altered Food

(RTTNews) - Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) will now serve only food that is free of genetically modified ingredients, becoming the first national restaurant chain to be GMO-free.

Starting Monday, the fast-food chain's tortillas, rice, chips and salsa, and marinades used to cook meat will not contain ingredients that are genetically modified. The news was first reported by the New York Times and CNN.

There has been increasing concern in the U.S. about the consumption of genetically modified foods on several grounds including safety, environmental impact, the use of pesticides, and the fact that some of the genetically modified seeds are subject to intellectual property rights and owned by corporations.

Chipotle, a Denver, Colorado-based burrito and tacos chain spun off from McDonald's in 2006, has said it is committed to finding better, more sustainable sources for all of the ingredients it uses.

For more than two years, the company has been trying to eliminate ingredients made with genetically modified organisms or GMOs.

This includes sourcing non-GMO tortillas and using Responsibly Raised meats, or meat from animals that are raised in a humane way and without the use of antibiotics or added hormones. The company has also taken steps to procure local and organically grown produce, and dairy products from pasture-raised dairy cattle.

In 2013, Chipotle became the first national restaurant company to voluntarily disclose the use of GMOs in its food, and the first to announce plans to eliminate GMOs from the ingredients it uses.

All of Chipotle's 1,831 restaurants now use non-GMO corn. In addition, the company has switched its cooking oil to GMO-free sunflower oil and rice bran oil from soybean oil.

However, the company has suffered from supply constraints in the quest for eliminating its supply chain of genetically modified ingredients.

In December 2014, Chipotle took its pork carnitas off the menu in hundreds of restaurants after a primary pork supplier failed to meet the company's health standards. The company is now losing customers at its carnitas-less restaurants.

Last week, the company said it might not be able to offer carnitas in all of its more than 1,800 restaurants until this fall.