Chipotle Pulls Popular Burrito Ingredient From Menu

By Caitlyn Fitzpatrick (Patch staff)

Hundreds of Chipotle restaurants stopped serving a menu option Wednesday, Jan. 14.

Don’t worry guacamole lovers.

One-third of locations, about 600, will not be serving pork for the time being because the supplier is not living up to the Mexican grill’s expectations, ABC News reports.

Chipotle promotes “food with integrity” on its website and says that 100 percent of the pigs used for carnitas are never given antibiotics and are fed a vegetarian diet. However, some part of the standards have not been met, which caused the pork elimination.

It’s unclear if any of the southeast Michigan locations were affected. They include restaurants at:

• 32824 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak
• 3129 Crooks Road, Troy
• 84 North Adams Road, The Village of Rochester Hills
• 2611 Rochester Road, Rochester Hills
• 6753 Orchard Lake Road, West Bloomfield
• 26147 Evergreen Road, Southfield
• 28644 Telegraph Road Space C-9, Southfield
• 32 East Fourteen Mile, Madison Heights
• 13975 Lakeside Circle, Sterling Heights
• Briarwood Mall, 858 Briarwood Circle, Ann Arbor
• Arlington Square Retail Shopping Center, 3354 Washtenaw Road, Ann Arbor

“We found a pork supplier that was not meeting our standards, so we have suspended our purchases from this supplier,” Chipotle Mexican Grill Spokesman Chris Arnold told CNNMoney in an email. “We cannot get enough pork that meets our responsibly raised standard for all our restaurants, and we will not be able to serve carnitas in some locations.”

It’s unclear who the bad actor is.

But Niman Ranch, Chipotle’s biggest and oldest pork supplier, says it’s not them. “In fact, we have been working with Chipotle this week to help get them more product to fill the void from the suspended vendor,” said Jeff Tripician, Niman’s executive vice president.

Niman Ranch pork is grown on 700 family farms.

Specific restaurants affected by the pork-free decision have not been revealed, however, “no carnitas” signs have already been displayed in places like New York. It is unclear how long pork that did not meet the guidelines was being served to customers.

The first Chipotle opened in 1993 in an old ice cream shop in Denver.

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Photo via Chipotle Mexican Grill Facebook