Chipotle is being sued for allegedly posting misleading calorie counts

A handful of Chipotle customers are suing the burrito chain claiming it misled people into thinking its chorizo burrito contained fewer calories than it actually does. 

The lawsuit centers around the menu boards at three Chipotle restaurants in California. The boards allegedly said the chorizo burrito contained 300 calories. In reality, they contain around 700 calories.

Three customers filed the class action complaint against Chipotle in California last week, alleging that the chain broke the law by inaccurately representing the healthiness of its food. 

"[B]y providing false nutritional information for their menu items, consumers are lulled into a false belief that the items they are eating are healthier than they really are," the suit reads. 

The number of calories in a chorizo burrito varies based on other toppings, but it typically contains more than 700 calories. The tortilla alone is 300 calories. 

As Chipotle later clarified on Twitter, the chorizo, which is seasoned meat containing ground chicken and pork, contains 300 calories on its own. 

According to the lawsuit, the three plaintiffs all ordered chorizo burritos at Chipotle after seeing "chorizo" as a promoted item on the menu board and noting its apparent low calorie count. 

"After eating the Chorizo Burrito, [Plaintiff David] Desmond felt excessively full and realized that the burrito couldn't have been just 300 calories," the complaint reads. 

Chipotle spokesperson Chris Arnold told Business Insider that the company doesn't discuss details surrounding pending legal actions as a matter of policy. 

"I will note that we work very hard to maintain transparency as to what is in our food, including our practices for disclosing nutrition information," Arnold said. "I'd also note that a lawsuit is purely allegation and is proof of absolutely nothing."

Chipotle introduced chorizo to its menu earlier this year in an effort to combat plummeting sales following an E. coli crisis that rocked the chain late last year.  In late October, the company reported that sales were down 22% from the same quarter in 2015.