Chipotle Ingredients List Published

About six months ago, I came across a website that listed some of the questionable ingredients in Chipotle's foods.  Even though I get a vegan bowl (brown rice, black beans, fajita veggies, salsas, and guacamole), there were still some ingredients that I want to avoid, like soybean oil and other ingredients that are potentially GMO. I have eaten at Chipotle only twice within the past six months, when it was the only option at the time and was the "best of the worst" for fast food restaurants. With the help of activist blogger, "Foodbabe," the Chipotle Ingredients List has been posted on their website.

Here are some of my favorite snippets from the article:

“What I found was startling,” Hari says. “Most of their food was contaminated with genetically modified cooking oil, corn oil, and they were using genetically modified ingredients in their tortillas. Even in the black beans there was GMO soybean oil. You couldn’t even order vegetarian and avoid it. It was really unfortunate. Then, when I saw their flour tortillas’ package, it said that they use trans-fat. That’s crazy.”

One of the goals of ingredient transparency is to motivate restaurants to improve their ingredients, and that’s already happened at Chipotle. “The best part,” Hari says. “Is that they took the genetically modified soy bean oil out of the black beans, so you can actually have a black bean salad with guacamole, and avoid GMO’s and avoid all the chemicals.”

Hari also points triumphantly to the sidebar of their new ingredient statement that says they’ve committed to eliminating hydrogenated oils, tortilla preservatives, and GMOs in the future.


Chipotle Ingredients List (source: Chipotle)

Barbacoa

Beef, Water, Chipotle Chile, Rice Bran Oil, Cumin, Garlic, Oregano, Black Pepper, Salt, Cloves, Bay Leaf, Soybean Oil

Beans, Black

Water,  Black Beans , Yellow Onion, Chipotle Chile, Rice Bran Oil, Cumin, Garlic, Oregano, Black Pepper, Salt, Oregano, Bay Leaf, Citrus Juice

Beans, Pinto

Water,  Pinto Beans ,  Bacon  (Cured with water, salt, natural flavor, sodium erythorbate/nitrate), Yellow Onions, Chipotle Chile, Rice Bran Oil, Cumin, Garlic, Oregano, Black Pepper, Bay Leaves, Salt, Citrus Juice, Kosher Salt

Carnitas

Pork, Lard, Bay Leaf, Salt, Black Pepper, Thyme, Juniper Berries

Cheese, Monterrey Jack

Pasteurized Milk, Starter Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes

Cheese, White Cheddar

Pasteurized Milk, Starter Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes

Chicken

Chicken, Water, Chipotle Chile, Rice Bran Oil, Cumin, Garlic, Oregano, Black Pepper, Honey, Salt In some restaurants we grill our chicken with oil: restaurants with a plancha grill use soybean oil, with the exception of restaurants in Manhattan, which use rice bran oil.

Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette

Soybean Oil, Red Wine Vinegar, Honey, Kosher Salt, Water, Chipotle Chile, Rice Bran Oil, Cumin, Garlic, Oregano, Black Pepper In some restaurants, the Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette contains guar gum and is made with Canola Oil instead of Soybean Oil.

Guacamole

Hass Avocado, Red Onion, Jalapeno, Cilantro, Citrus Juice, Salt

Fajita Vegetables

Green Bell Pepper, Red Onion, Soybean Oil, Salt, Oregano In Manhattan restaurants, Fajitas are sauteed in Rice Bran Oil instead of Soybean Oil.

Lettuce

Romaine Lettuce

Rice, Brown

Long Grain Brown Rice, Bay Leaf, Soybean Oil, Cilantro, Citrus Juice, Salt In our Manhattan restaurants, we substitute Rice Bran Oil for Soybean Oil.

Rice, White

Enriched Long Grain White Rice (enriched with Folic Acid, Iron (Ferric Orthophosphate), Niacin, Thiamin Mononitrate), Bay Leaf, Soybean Oil, Cilantro, Citrus Juice, Kosher Salt In our Manhattan restaurants, we substitute Rice Bran Oil for Soybean Oil.

Salsa, Roasted Chili-Corn

White Sweet Corn , Red Onion, Jalapeno, Roasted Poblano Pepper, Cilantro, Citrus Juice, Kosher Salt

Salsa, Tomatillo-Green Chili

Roasted Tomato, Roasted Tomatillo, Roasted Jalapeno, Salt, Citrus Juice, Toasted Cumin, Garlic, Black Pepper, Red Onion, Cilantro, Oregano

Salsa, Tomatillo-Red Chili

Tomatillo, Water, Chile de Arbol, Salt, Cumin, Garlic, Black Pepper, Red Tabasco Sauce

Salsa, Tomato

Tomatoes, Red Onion, Jalapeno, Cilantro, Kosher Salt, Citrus Juice

Sour Cream

Grade A Cultured Milk, Cream, Organic Nonfat Dry Milk Solids

Steak

Beef, Water, Chipotle Chile, Rice Bran Oil, Cumin, Garlic, Oregano, Black Pepper, Salt At restaurants that grill steak on a plancha, we add a bit of honey to our steak marinade and grill the steak using soybean oil. At Manhattan restaurants that grill steak on a plancha, we use Rice Bran Oil instead of Soybean oil.

Tortilla, Burrito Size Flour

Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour (enriched with Folic Acid, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Riboflavin, and Thiamine Mononitrate), Water, White Whole Wheat Flour, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Wheat Bran, Salt, Baking Soda, Sodium Aluminum Sulfate, Corn Starch,  Monocalcium Phosphate , Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Calcium Sulfate, Fumaric Acid, Sodium Metabisulfite, Calcium Propionate, Sorbic Acid In many parts of the country, our tortillas are made with Unbleached Wheat Flour instead of enriched, bleached Wheat Flour, as well as Whole Wheat Flour instead of White Whole Wheat Flour.

Tortilla, Corn for Chips

Whole Ground Corn,  Lime (mineral) , Water, Cellulose Gum,  Priopionic Acid , Phosphoric Acid, Benzoic Acid, Salt, Lime Juice,  Sunflower Oil At restaurants in California, Oregon, and Washington, we serve chips made with Calcium Propionate, Cellulose Gum, Fumaric Acid, Guar Gum, Lime (mineral), Lime Juice, Salt, Sodium Propionate, Sorbic Acid, Water, White Masa Flour, and fried in Sunflower Oil. At restaurants in Ohio, we serve chips made with Calcium Propionate, Fumaric Acid, Lime Juice, Salt, Water, White Masa Flour, and fried in Soybean Oil. Restaurants in Michigan currently fry chips in soybean oil.

Tortilla, Soft Corn for Tacos

Yellow Ground Corn Masa, White Ground Corn Masa, Water, Guar Gum, Cellulose Gum,  Lime (mineral) ,  Fumaric Acid , Sorbic Acid, Calcium Propionate, Toasted Corn Germ, Dextrose, Calcium Sulfate, Enzymes

Tortilla, Taco Size Flour

Unbleached Enriched Wheat Flour (Enriched with Folic Acid, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Riboflavin, and Thiamine Mononitrate), Water, Whole Wheat Flour, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Wheat Bran, Salt, Baking Soda, Sodium Aluminum Sulfate, Corn Starch, Monocalcium Phosphate, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Calcium Sulfate, Fumaric Acid, Sodium Metabisulfite, Calcium Propionate, Sorbic Acid In some restaurants, we serve 6" tortillas made with bleached rather than unbleached wheat flour, White Whole Wheat Flour instead of Whole Wheat Flour, no Wheat Bran, and added Water.

Tortilla, Tacos

Whole Ground Corn,  Lime (mineral) , Water, Cellulose Gum, Propionic Acid, Phosphoric Acid, Benzoic Acid , Sunflower Oil Restaurants in sections of the central U.S. currently fry Taco Shells in Soybean Oil. By the end of August 2013, all U.S. restaurants will use Sunflower Oil for frying.