A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California approved a 6.5 million dollar settlement agreement on Friday in a class action lawsuit against Chipotle over a misleading non-GMO advertising campaign.
Plaintiffs accused Chipotle of false advertising for claiming that the food they serve is non-GMO. The Plaintiffs say this is misleading because Chipotle serves meat from animals fed genetically engineered feed and drinks containing corn syrup. Most common fountain drinks, such as Coke, Pepsi and Sprite contain some form of corn syrup, a GMO. The plaintiffs claim that they would not have eaten at or ordered from Chipotle’s restaurants if they had been aware.
The settlement covers administrative and legal fees in addition to payments of class members. Individuals can file five claims worth $2 each, and 10 claims if they have receipts from their purchases. Households can file 15 claims.
Between this settlement and the class action law suit burger king currently faces over the impossible whooper it will be interesting to see what impact, if any, this has on the fast food industry. Chipotle has not appealed the settlement, and it remains uncertain whether or not it will do so.