This post is sponsored by Nima Sensor and contains affiliate links.
This afternoon I ate lunch at Chipotle and decided it was time to test my food for gluten using the Nima Sensor gluten detecting device. I eat at Chipotle often as everything on the menu is gluten-free (except for the flour tortillas) according to Chipotle’s allergen menu. But of course, you never know for sure… and cross contamination lurks everywhere.
You can watch me do these tests on Facebook Live and see how everything fared! (Just hit the play button – or the arrow – in the next image.)
At Chipotle, I tested the following items with my Nima Sensor:
- The chicken burrito bowl, which included brown rice, chicken, fajita vegetables, black beans, shredded cheese, tomatoes and lettuce.
- The chips and queso
Here’s what I found:
In the burrito bowl, I put a small sample of the chicken, beans and cheese into the Nima Sensor. Nima Sensor smiled at me, which means it did not detect gluten- nice!
I then tested a chip and it, too, came back negative for gluten.
The queso, however, came back with the wheat symbol and the message, “Gluten Found.” While the queso has no gluten in it, it’s possible the spot I tested was cross contaminated with gluten at some point, as there are flour tortillas present on the food assembly line.
How to Order Gluten-Free at Chipotle
When you order at Chipotle, it is important to disclose that you cannot eat gluten, and ask the staff member to change his or her gloves. You can then order anything on the menu except the tortillas… well, I might be wary of the queso now but I’m fairly certain it was a cross contamination issue in the food assembly line. (And this really drives home the point that you need to test your food each and every time you eat at a restaurant!)
Two items I am also wary of cross contamination are the cheese and lettuce. The staff use their hands to grab those items, whereas the rest of the items are dished out with a spoon.
When I order at Chipotle, I always ask for the cheese and lettuce to be taken from a fresh source and the staff has always obliged this request.
Do You Need a Nima Sensor?
The answer is, yes, you do!
You can test your food each and every time, and you’ll rarely get glutened when you eat out when you have Nima in your back pocket.
You can get a Nima Sensor Starter Kit online … and then you will always enjoy peace of mind at meal time.
Learn more about the Nima Sensor in this article – I tell you all about this cool little gluten detecting device, as well as its limitations and proper usages.
I also encourage you to download my Safe Gluten-Free Dining Card. It’s a free printable wallet-sized card that you can carry with you and show to restaurant staff when you’re dining out. Enjoy!
PS: Still having trouble eating out safely at restaurants? My ebook, Eating Out Gluten-Free: The Ultimate Guide, is now available online.
Kathie Anderson says
Do you mean wary ? You can’t be weary of the queso unless you really mean you are tired of it. Is that what
you meant?
Drew Stoke says
Hi Jenny, thanks for this. I ate at Chipotle in Norcal last week and had the burrito bowl which I have had before. I did not have lettuce but did have cheese. A few hours afterwards I had stomach cramps which I had not experienced before so I can only assume cross-contamination….
Jenny says
Yes thank you
Rachel says
I have a corn sensitivity as well as gluten. I have gotten sick 3 separate times about 12 hours after eating at Chipotle (always salad with chicken, brown rice, and guac, no dairy). The last time, in September, the diarrhea was just horrible. Sadly, I think I have to avoid Chipotle all together.
Jenny says
Yes I would avoid too if that happened. Feel well.