Chipotle Mexican Grill's GMO-Free Claim Being Tested In Court

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG has been attempting to solidify its dominant position within the new wave of "healthy" dining by cutting out genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

After more than two years in working towards cutting out GMOs from its menu offerings, the company said back in April that it has reached its objectives and finished removing GMOs from its menu, making it the first major restaurant chain to do so.

Chipotle's claims are now being called into question.

Misleading Marketing

On Monday, a new class-action lawsuit in U.S. federal court is alleging the company's marketing is misleading and deceptive as many items on its current menu are still made with GMOs.

Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP alleges that Chipotle's "Food With Integrity" marketing tagline creates a false impression and misleading customers.

"Consumers today are very concerned about what they eat, and restaurants know that consumers place a premium on food that is considered to be healthy or natural," stated Laurence D. King, an attorney for the proposed class in the press release. "As a result, Chipotle's advertising in its stores should have accurately informed customers about the source and quality of its ingredients and should not mislead consumers that they are serving food without GMOs when in fact they are."

Related Link: Analyst: Chipotle Is Successful Because It Sticks To What Works

Animals Feeding Off GMOs

Specifically, the press release alleges that the company: "serves meat products that come from animals which feed on GMOs, including soy and corn, that its sour cream and cheese ingredients come from dairy farms that feed animals with GMOs, and that Chipotle sells soft drinks that are made with corn-syrup—a GMO."

The press release further noted: "The complaint alleges violations of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, the California False Advertising Law, and the California Unfair Competition Law. The case, entitled Gallagher v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., No. 15-cv-03952, is currently pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California."

According to Fortune, the company's communications director, Chris Arnold said: "Generally speaking, we do not discuss details of pending legal action, though we do plan to contest this."

Image credit: Steven Depolo, Flickr