Chipotle Is Keeping Its Meat Antibiotic-Free After All
By Dan Charles
For a few hours Tuesday, it appeared that Chipotle Mexican Grill, an ever expanding source of fast food for the ethically conscious consumer, had softened its hard line against antibiotics in meat production.
Bloomberg News "broke" the story, as we journalists (rather weirdly) like to say. Relying on an email from Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold, it reported that the restaurant chain no longer would ban all meat from animals treated with antibiotics. Such beef is growing increasingly scarce and expensive. Under the new policy, Bloomberg reported, Chipotle would allow beef producers to use antibiotics to treat disease, but routine use of antibiotics to prevent diseases or promote faster growth still would be banned.
The "burrito bombshell" (Salon.com) flashed 'round the food world on tweeted wings. Many news outlets picked it up. Here at The Salt, we tried to confirm it. And eventually, we got our own email from Chris Arnold. Update! Chipotle has made no such change in its policies. "I gave Bloomberg incorrect information," Arnold wrote us, manfully taking responsibility.
In fact, according to an official statement from Chipotle, the chain's antibiotic ban still stands. For now. Chipotle admits that it is considering a change: "The company is currently evaluating if this strict 'never-ever' antibiotic protocol is best for the animals, or whether animals can be treated when necessary and allowed to remain in the herd."
Actually, Chipotle's ban was never absolute. Occasionally, some Chipotle restaurants do run out of meat that's been raised completely without antibiotics. In those cases, according to company policy, the restaurants may serve conventional meat, accompanied by a small sign informing consumers of this fact.
In any case, stay tuned! Arnold's premature announcement may yet turn out to be true. For now, though, he's suffering through a bad day at the office. "Tough to un-ring the bell," he confessed ruefully.
Dan Charles
Dan Charles is NPR's food and agriculture correspondent.
See stories by Dan Charles