Chipotle became the first major dining chain to swear off genetically modified ingredients.
The company announced Sunday that its year-long effort to remove GMO ingredients has concluded. Chipotle has in part built its brand on using organic ingredients, with the tagline “food with integrity.”
“It’s relatively easy for us to have all non-GMO ingredients because we don’t have many ingredients in the first place,” CEO Steve Ellis told CNN.
GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, have been in use since the 1990s to increase crops and make them more resistant to pesticides. Typical genetically engineered plants are corn, canola, soybean and cotton, and are used to make ingredients for other food products such as cornstarch in soups and sauces, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
However, the method has become very controversial with advocates pushing for foods made from GMOs to be labelled in the grocery store. The FDA has said that genetically engineered foods must meet the same safety regulations as regular foods.
There isn’t a law that mandates GMO labeling, but there is FDA advice on how companies can voluntarily label their products as such.
