On my birthday last Friday, I received an AMAZING present. It was an email from Chris Arnold, the Communications Director at Chipotle, that read “Tadah!” in the subject line and had a link attached to the body of the email.

The link directed me to the Chipotle’s website where they finally released a comprehenstive list of all their ingredients online.

Back in August of last year, I did an investigation on 100DaysofRealFood that ultimately left me frustrated with the company. When inquiring about the ingredients – I was met with significant challenge and had to work my way around the corporate headquarters to actually find out the ingredients.

Here’s an excerpt and infographic from my investigation that sums up my experience quite nicely -

When I emailed Chipotle asking for the ingredients in certain products they downright refused. They in turn asked if I was concerned about a specific ingredient or had an allergy. Really? Why do I have to be concerned about a specific ingredient or have an allergy to want to know what I am eating and what’s in my food? When I tried to call them, there was no way for me to leave a message or get a person on the phone to answer my questions. Email responses were S-L-O-W. I had to ask very specific questions to get the data I needed to write this – specific questions that most consumers would likely not ask. Thank goodness for the genuinely accommodating employee who shared some of the ingredients with me (behind his Manager’s back) so I could give you the full story.

A few weeks after my investigation, Chris from Chipotle contacted me and asked me to meet with him, so I could better understand their challenges with posting their ingredient list. I’ve been in contact with him ever since – asking for periodic updates and making sure he knew I wasn’t going to let Chipotle off the hook. To keep the pressure on, some folks were so inspired by the investigation, that they created a petition on my behalf, where 2400+ people shared their voice in concern.
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