Chipotle Has Reportedly Been Serving Brown, Stringy Guac And People Are Not Happy

Kristin Salaky
Photo credit: Joe Raedle - Getty Images
Photo credit: Joe Raedle - Getty Images

From Delish

Chipotle guac is the subject of a lot of conversation. People constantly talk about whether it should cost extra, if it's the best fast food guac, or what exactly goes in it. But recently, people have been talking about Chipotle guacamole for a different reason: Photos have surfaced online of brown or stringy guac apparently from the chain.

Customers have been taking to Twitter for a few months now complaining about the apparent change in quality of Chipotle's guac, with some even wondering if the chain had changed its recipe. There's even been a Twitter account created called SaveTheGuac that is retweeting instances of subpar guacamole, but the interesting thing is all of the complaints seem to be pretty different. For some customers, the problem is that the guac has gone brown, for others, it's been "stringy," while others found it too chunky. And some employees have pointed out on Reddit that there have been times when they've not even been able to sell guac at all, as Business Insider pointed out.

But the reason behind the guac problem is likely pretty simple; It's all about the quality of the avocados. Chipotle told Delish that the chain switches avocado suppliers from Mexican providers to Peruvian ones in the summer when they go out of season. Per Chipotle's chief communications officer Laurie Schalow:

Due to the seasonal transition from Peruvian to Mexican suppliers that happens every year at this time, we are experiencing normal variabilities in our avocados but we can assure our customers that our guac is still being freshly prepared in our restaurants every day.

As The Today Show pointed out, both Peru and Mexico harvest Haas avocados, but the fruit is a bit different between the two places. Peruvian avocados tend to take longer to ripen and can have a thicker skin. Most of the avocados you'll eat in America likely come from Mexico, so when you encounter a Peruvian avocado, it may take time to get used to, according to fair trade company Equal Exchange. This could account for the differences people have been seeing.

But a Chipotle spokesperson told Today that the chain has already begun to transition out of Peruvian avocados starting at the end of August (the process apparently takes to weeks), so it stands to reason that this temporary guac situation could be handled soon enough. Rest easy, we'll get through this together!

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