Chipotle Becomes Only National Restaurant Brand to Use No Added Colors, Flavors or Preservatives in Its Food
March 28 2017 - 9:30AM
Business Wire
Multi-Year Quest to Develop Better Tasting, Preservative-Free
Tortilla Complete; Company’s Food Now Includes Only 51 Real,
Delicious Ingredients
Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) announced that it has become
the only national restaurant brand with no added colors, flavors or
preservatives in any of the ingredients it uses to prepare its food
(except for lemon and lime juices which can be used as
preservatives, though Chipotle uses them only for taste). This
applies to all Chipotle restaurants in the United States and does
not include beverages. The accomplishment furthers the company’s
mission to make better food accessible to everyone. Details about
each of the company’s ingredients can be seen at
http://www.chipotle.com/real.
Two years ago, the company began working to eliminate
unnecessary additives and preservatives from the tortillas it uses
to make burritos, tacos and chips. The new tortillas are now served
in all the company's U.S. restaurants, and were tested extensively
in Chipotle restaurants around the country beginning in January.
The new recipes for corn and flour tortillas now contain between
two and five ingredients. For example, the new flour tortillas are
made using only flour, water, canola oil, salt and yeast. The corn
tortillas used for the chips are made only with corn masa flour and
water.
“We have always used high quality ingredients and prepared them
using classic cooking techniques,” said Steve Ells, Chipotle
Founder, Chairman and CEO. “We never resorted to using added colors
or flavors like many other fast food companies do simply because
these industrial additives often interfere with the taste of the
food. However, commercially available tortillas, whether they are
for us or someone else, use dough conditioners and preservatives.
I’ve been on a quest for a better tasting tortilla for years, and
we finally achieved a tortilla made the way you would make them at
home, and they are simply delicious. Ultimately, all of the
decisions we make about the ingredients we use are about making the
very best tasting food we can.”
Chipotle has long been a pioneer in serving better quality
ingredients. This includes the use of local and organically grown
produce when available and practical, dairy from cows raised on
pasture and meats from animals raised without hormones or
non-therapeutic antibiotics. Additionally, none of the ingredients
used in Chipotle’s food have been genetically modified. With the
introduction of its new tortillas, the company now touts only 51
real ingredients used to prepare all of its food. This is in stark
contrast to most other fast food chains where a single menu item
can contain 40 or more ingredients — many of which are added
flavors, colors, preservatives and other industrial additives.
“When helping people find ways to eat well, I
always encourage them to look for food made with simple
ingredients, and without unnecessary additives. Even the word
‘natural,’ when it comes to additives, can be misleading because
there are added colors and added flavors that can be labeled as
‘natural,’” said Ellie Krieger, RD, Nutritionist, Chef, and host of
the public television show, “Ellie’s Real Good Food.”
"And when I go out to eat, I seek out restaurants that use the
same real, high-quality ingredients I use in my own kitchen. That’s
why I absolutely love what Chipotle is doing here.”
Chipotle’s accomplishment comes at a time when other fast food
brands are scrambling to clean up their ingredient statements as
consumers turn away from processed foods and foods with added
colors, flavors, preservatives and other industrial additives. But
nearly every fast food chain has chosen the easier path of simply
switching from artificial flavors and colors to “natural” versions
of additives that serve the same purpose. Some fast food companies
have gone so far as to designate the preservatives they use as
"natural" even though nearly all preservatives identified in FDA
rules are known as “chemical preservatives."
Evidence of how confusing the distinction between artificial and
natural additives can be is illustrated by looking at the
ingredient statement from what is arguably fast food’s most popular
offering: the French fry. Typical fast food French fries contain
several ingredients including “natural beef flavor.” Even though it
contains no beef, the “natural” beef designation can be used simply
because the chemical is derived from plant material.
“Rather than switching from artificial colors, flavors,
sweeteners and preservatives to ‘natural’ alternatives of the same
additives, fast food companies should be asking why their food
needs added colors, flavors, sweeteners and preservatives in the
first place,” said Mark Crumpacker, Chief Marketing and Development
Officer for Chipotle. “Because we prepare our fresh food using
classic cooking techniques, we avoid using the industrial additives
typically associated with fast food — but most importantly, that
approach is the reason our food is so delicious.”
The company also released a "visual ingredient statement" which
visually depicts the ingredients in each of its menu items. The
visual ingredient statement can be seen at
http://www.chipotle.com/ingredients.
Chipotle defines “national restaurant brand” as any restaurant
brand included in the Nation’s Restaurant News top 200
list (August 2016) having more than 100 total U.S. locations. The
company’s statements that it uses no added colors, flavors or
preservatives apply only to Chipotle branded restaurants
operating within the U.S., and only to the ingredients used to
prepare food and not to ingredients used in the beverages sold at
Chipotle.
ABOUT CHIPOTLE
Steve Ells, founder, chairman and CEO, started Chipotle with the
idea that food served fast did not have to be a typical fast food
experience. Today, Chipotle continues to offer a focused menu of
burritos, tacos, burrito bowls, and salads made from fresh,
high-quality raw ingredients, prepared using classic cooking
methods and served in an interactive style allowing people to get
exactly what they want. Chipotle seeks out the finest ingredients
that are not only fresh, but that are raised responsibly, with
respect for the animals, land, and people who produce them.
Chipotle prepares its food without the use of added colors, flavors
or preservatives typically found in fast food. Chipotle opened with
a single restaurant in Denver in 1993 and now operates more than
2,200 restaurants. For more information, visit Chipotle.com.
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Chipotle Mexican GrillChris Arnold,
303-222-5912carnold@chipotle.com
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