Chipotle Carnitas Crisis: Pork Not On Menu After Dispute With Supplier

By John Dodge

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chipotle carnitas crisis has hit Chicago area stores.

The pork offering for the restaurant's burritos and bowls has been taken off the menu at a third of the chain's locations nationwide, including in the Chicago area.

A "no carnitas" sign posted at the store on Madison Street in the Loop and in Skokie near Old Orchard, alerted customers of the news.

A company spokesman says it has suspended a supplier that violated the restaurant's standards.

Chris Arnold, a spokesman for the Mexican food chain, told The Associated Press it's the first time the company stopped serving a topping.

He said Chipotle learned of the violation by the supplier on Friday through a routine audit, and did not have a timeline for when carnitas would return to affected stores, about a third of its total.

Arnold said most of the issues related to the violations concerned the housing for the pigs.

Chipotle demands that its suppliers raise pigs in humane conditions with access to the outdoors, rather than in cramped pens, the AP reported.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. had 1,724 restaurants as of Sept. 30.

Arnold said the carnitas topping typically accounts for about 6 to 7 percent of entree orders; chicken is the most popular topping.