Subway joins a growing list of chains doing away with artificial ingredients, as the sandwich chain pledged to remove all artificial colors, preservatives and flavors from menu items served at its North American restaurants by 2017.
While removing some of those ingredients will be “relatively straightforward,” others will take substantial time and effort, noted Elizabeth Stewart, Subway’s director of corporate responsibility. “But, we felt it was important to set an ambitious goal as a means to give us something to shoot for and demonstrate our unwavering commitment to wellness,” she said.
Subway’s announcement comes one year after the chain publicly phased out azodicarbonamide, a bleaching agent and dough conditioner known as the “yoga mat chemical,” from its sandwich bread.
It follows similar pledges by Taco Bell, Panera Bread and Pizza Hut to remove artificial ingredients from some or all of their menu items.
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