Chipotle's carnitas are back in 90% of restaurants
The chain said Monday that it has restored its pork supply in 90% of its restaurants, and expects to be serving carnitas in all of its restaurants by the end of November.
The only restaurants still missing the pork entree are located in Cleveland, Atlanta, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to the company.
Chipotle was able to replenish its supply by increasing shipments from existing suppliers and importing pork from a new partner based in the UK called Karro Food.
"While Chipotle continues to prefer domestic sources for all of its meat, conventionally raised pork in the U.S. does not meet the company's high standards for animal welfare," the company said in a release.
Chipotle stopped serving pork at hundreds of restaurants in January after discovering during a routine audit that one of its meat suppliers was violating the company's animal-treatment standards.
The supplier was raising pigs without access to the outdoors or to deeply bedded barns that make the animals more comfortable, according to the company.
The shortage impacted one-third of the Chipotle's more than 1,700 restaurants. Carnitas account for 6% to 7% of entrée orders, according to the AP. Chicken is the most popular protein.