Mexican QSR chain Guzman y Gomez (GYG) has removed added preservatives, artificial flavours, added colours and unacceptable additives from its menu and says its food is now 100 per cent “clean”.

The new menu, three years in the making, comes in response to customer demand, GYG said in a statement released on Tuesday.

“Our menu and processes are constantly evolving in response to global best-practice and, most importantly, customer demand,” Steven Marks, GYG founder and global CEO, said.

“After extensive research into consumer attitudes and trends towards food, and ongoing feedback from our guests, it’s become clear that clean is the new healthy.”

The business worked with independent nutritionist Sarah Patterson of The Nutrition Providers, and used the international food guidelines laid out by the World Health Organisation to develop its definition of “clean” food.

GYG defines “clean” as containing no added preservatives, no artificial flavours, no added colours and no unacceptable additives.

The business worked with several of its existing suppliers to change their products and create new products to meet these guidelines, and in some cases, it teamed up with new suppliers.

GYG removed all added preservatives from its tortillas, corn chips and hard tacos in less than 12 months, and now offers new products like fries, cheese and even sauces and marinades that are preservative free.

The QSR chain described the move as setting a new standard in the fast food industry.

“Australians should never have to compromise on quality and eating whole real foods, even when it comes to fast food,” Marks said.

“When you order food it should be easy to avoid added preservatives, colours, artificial flavours and other nasties that offer very little nutritional value.”

This isn’t the first time GYG has challenged industry norms. In 2017, the chain became the first Australian fast-food brand to introduce free range chicken across its stores nationwide, and since then, it has also rolled out 100 per cent sow stall free pulled pork and hormone-free beef across all of its Australian stores.

GYG said it would always be transparent about what is in its food and continue to develop new products using only “clean” ingredients.