Chipotle Sued Over Inaccurate Calorie Count

Three men have filed a lawsuit against the Mexican chain alleging the company has been deceiving customers with low calorie counts.

November 23, 2016

LOS ANGELES – Chipotle Mexican Grill has not had a good year, from a foodborne illness crisis to an illegal social media policy. Now, three men are claiming the Mexican fast-food chain posted inaccurate calorie counts related to its chorizo burritos, the San Diego Tribune reports.

The men filed a class-action lawsuit last week in Los Angeles after eating chorizo burritos at three different locations that posted product signs listing the menu item had 300 calories. But the men soon realized the burritos with pork sausage, rice, beans, cheese and guacamole in a flour tortilla packed more of a caloric punch than indicated.

Plaintiff David Desmond said in his complaint that he “felt excessively full and realized that the burrito couldn’t have been just 300 calories.” The other two men, Edward Gurevick and Young Hoon Kim, also said they felt overly full as well.

The suit claims that the inaccurate nutritional data deceives consumers “into a false belief that the items they are eating are healthier than they really are.” These men aren’t the only ones to notice the apparent discrepancy. A Twitter exchange between Chipotle and a customer clarified that the 300 calories was for the chorizo only—not the entire burrito. Adding in the tortilla, rice, beans, cheese and other toppings brings the menu item into the 1,350-plus range.

Chris Arnold, spokesman for Chipotle, told Fortune that, “generally speaking, we always work hard to maintain transparency around what is in our food, including the nutritional content, which is provided on an ingredient-by-ingredient basis.”

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