Mealey's (February 5, 2020, 1:27 PM EST) -- OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge in California on Jan. 31 granted preliminary approval of a class action settlement under which Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. will pay $6.5 million to end claims that it violated California’s unfair competition (UCL) and other states’ laws by advertising its products as “non-GMO [genetically modified organism]” and “GMO free” even though it allegedly sources it meat and dairy products from animals fed with GMO-derived food and offers soft drinks containing corn syrup, a GMO (Martin Schneider, et al. v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., No. 16-2200, N.D. Calif., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16365)....