Not to worry, Chipotle fans. The Mexican fast food chain doesn't plan to stop serving guacamole, despite reports that rising ingredient prices could temporarily remove it from menus.
“I wouldn’t read too much into this," Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold said in a statement. "The story stems from a 'risk factor' note in our annual report and amounts to nothing more than routine and required financial disclosure. The sky isn’t falling."
According to the company's SEC filing last month, the company warned it could temporarily suspend sales of guacamole and some salsas due to an increase in food costs. The item was first noted by ThinkProgress.
Chipotle said in the filing that food and supply costs "escalated markedly" in 2013, and more increases are expected in 2014 for avocados, beef, dairy and chicken. Blamed for the price increase: freezing conditions, two years of drought and other weather volatility.
Arnold said Chipotle has encountered similar circumstances in the past without the menu being affected.
"We have seen similar conditions with regard to avocados before, and incurred higher prices because of that," he said, "but have never stopped serving guacamole. And we don’t anticipate that happening now. The disclosure is required of us and made out of an abidance of caution.”
Chipotle touts its commitment to organic, local, and sustainable farming practices for its ingredients, and claims to only use local produce grown on farms within 350 miles of the restaurants where it will be served.
The company is also on the record in blaming climate change for unpredictable weather conditions affecting crops.
