Panera commits to drop artificial ingredients from food

US-based soup and sandwich chain Panera Bread has become the latest to join food companies who are aiming to remove artificial preservatives, flavours and colours in their products.

Over the last few months, companies including Nestlé USA, Hershey, Kraft and McDonald’s promised to work on eliminating ingredients ranging from high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colourings, human antibiotics and artificial flavourings from their products.

The companies are taking these steps in response to growing demand among consumers about transparency and simplicity in the foods they buy and consume.

Panera CEO Ron Shaich was quoted by the New York Times saying: "We’re trying to draw a line in the sand in the industry so that consumers have an easy way to know what’s in the food they buy."

The company released a ‘No No List’ that said it will remove more than 150 ingredients including aspartame, azodicarbonamide, high-fructose corn syrup and lard.

The move is a part of Panera’s initiative of including clean ingredients in its products that it launched in 2014. Under this initiative, the company set out to reduce the use of antibiotics in its meats and improve treatment of animals.

According to the Quartz, Shaich is unclear about changes brought to the food with the removal of ingredients and how it will affect the company’s prices.

Panera is said to use more than 450 ingredients in its foods and the company had to involve both its own suppliers and their suppliers to decide the list of ingredients to be eliminated, reported the New York Times.

Panera says it consulted organisations such as the Environmental Working Group, Natural Resources Defense Council, Union of Concerned Scientists and Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future on ingredient removal, stated Quartz.