This is the level of food knowledge that America has come to.

The above Instagram post has been going viral, with over 5,500 likes as of writing time. User Not Pagan/Wiccan has brought a lot of attention to a group of Chipotle customers who have been freaking out on the Internet over a "mysterious leaf" in their food.

Thank you @ChipotleTweets for the leaf in my burrito. Yum pic.twitter.com/pqKw1HAXSy

— Thomas Hoefener (@T_Heffff) February 1, 2017

@ChipotleTweets hi yes is this an extremely large basil leaf or is this an actual leaf in my food pic.twitter.com/EVcjasZXA7

— Miranda Lobus (@mlobusss_) December 19, 2016

From the pictures, it can be clearly seen that all of the leaves found are bay leaves. Bay leaves are extremely common spices, often left whole when cooking in larger quantities to get the maximum level of flavor from the bay leaves. Chipotle uses them in a wide variety of the foods they cook, meaning you'll likely come across one in your food.

While you don't want to actually eat the bitter leaves, their aroma is responsible for the base of the flavor in tons of different dishes. Having them in the food is a sign of authenticity, not contamination.

The fact that many people have found these and complained is a little disturbing, since bay leaves are integral in so many cuisines and can likely be found in many other restaurants. At any rate, Chipotle has addressed the leaves, telling people not to bite them and explaining their usage.

@missytoney_ That's a bay leaf used for seasoning. They can be bitter if eaten whole. Sorry we missed removing that. -Dre

— Chipotle (@ChipotleTweets) December 12, 2016

It's a dark time for the culinary world when Chipotle has to explain what a bay leaf is.