Subway to remove chemical from bread

[Jesus Malverde]

Subway, one of the world's biggest bread bakers, is about to remove a chemical from its breads that raised the ire of an influential health activist and food blogger.

The world's biggest sandwich chain says it's in the process of removing the chemical known as Azodiacarbonamide from its sandwich breads -- a chemical that Vani Hari, who runs the site FoodBabe.com, says is commonly used to increase elasticity in everything from yoga mats to shoe rubber to synthetic leather. It's used for the same reason in bread, she says, as a dough conditioner.

"We are already in the process of removing Azodiacarbonamide as part of our bread improvement efforts despite the fact that it is USDA and FDA approved ingredient," the company says in a statement. "The complete conversion to have this product out of the bread will be done soon."

Fresh baked bread -- and the perception of better-for you offerings --is a major deal to Subway. It's one of the chain's central selling points. Just last week, Michelle Obama sat and ate lunch before hosting a press conference at a Subway in Washington D.C. to commend the chain for joining her healthy eating initiative -- pledging nutritious foods on its kids menu.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/02/05/subway-fast-food-chemicals-in-food/5236537/

[marions ghost]

1. See?

Consumers can change things.

I wonder if it is what gives that strange (yoga mat?) smell to Subway bread...

[Jesus Malverde]

2. Right in the article...

Food safety and health concerns have become a priority with American consumers who are pressuring the nation's biggest brands to respond.

[marions ghost]

6. Keep it up consumers!

Food engineers take note. We are tired of unhealthy plastic food.

[proverbialwisdom]

7. According to Twitter, 50,000 signatures were obtained in 24 hrs, or so I read after it was all over.

http://foodbabe.com/2014/02/04/launching-petition-subway-will-finally-hear-us-loud-clear/

Launching Subway Petition – They Will Finally Hear From Us, Loud and Clear
By Food Babe

February 4, 2014

<>

[img][/img]

I have written about Subway several times – First in 2012, when I did an investigation into what exactly was in their famous low calorie and “fresh” sandwiches and then again last year when I did a deep dive into one of the most controversial ingredients used in their breads.

Not only has this company not responded, but they have ignored repeated requests by me and others to learn more about why they are using an ingredient banned all over the world. They have completely ignored us.

More.

http://foodbabe.com/subway/

PETITION
Subway: Stop Using Dangerous Chemicals In Your Bread
By Vani Hari

68,693 currently

<>

I discovered that Subway makes bread with an ingredient called azodicarbonamide. It can be found in almost all the breads at Subway restaurants here in North America, but not in Europe, Australia or other parts of the world.

Azodicarbonamide is the same chemical used to make yoga mats, shoe soles, and other rubbery objects. It’s not supposed to be food or even eaten for that matter. And it’s definitely not “fresh”.

Subway is using this ingredient as a bleaching agent and dough conditioner which allows them to produce bread faster and cheaper without regard to the following health consequences and alarming facts:

* The World Health Organization (1) has linked it to respiratory issues, allergies and asthma.
* When a truck carrying azodicarbonamide overturned on a Chicago highway in 2001, it prompted city officials to issue the highest hazardous materials alert and evacuate people within a half mile radius! Many of the people on the scene complained of burning eyes and skin irritation as a result. (3)
* The U.K. Health And Safety Executive has recognized azodicarbonamide as a potential cause of asthma. (4)
* When azodicarbonamide is heated, there are studies that show it is linked to tumor development and cancer. (5)
* Not only is this ingredient banned in Europe and Australia, but you also get fined 450,000 dollars if you get caught using it in Singapore and can serve 15 years in prison (2).

We deserve the same safer ingredients Subway serves in other countries.

I urge you to join me in asking Subway to remove azodicarbonamide from their products. Subway doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel. They can use the same recipes and ingredients they do across the globe.

Subway is the largest fast food company headquartered in the United States. If Subway changes their Bread, we know this could inspire other food companies across the US to finally eliminate this dangerous chemical once and for all.

North Americans deserve to truly eat fresh – not yoga mats.

Sources:

1. http://www.who.int/ipcs/publications/cicad/en/cicad16.pdf
2. http://www.kat-chem.hu/en/prod-bulletins/azodikarbonamid
3. Pandora’s LunchBox by Melanie Warner (pgs. 103 – 104)
4. http://www.inchem.org/documents/cicads/cicads/cicad16.htm
5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21786817

More.

[marions ghost]

14. Thanks for posting!

I'm going to follow this blog.

[proverbialwisdom]

24. More from Robyn O'Brien without goofiness factor (which might be used to negate $$/power imbalance).

http://www.robynobrien.com/_blog/Inspiring_Ideas/post/do-your-buns-contain-yoga-mat/

Do Your Buns Contain Yoga Mat
Robyn O'Brien - Tuesday, February 04, 2014

<>

So why in the world are we using it in our food?

Back in our grandmothers' days, bread would go stale within a day or two and grow mold by the end of the week. Not fun but natural. In order to address this concern for food retailers, the industry began adding this foaming agent in order to extend the shelf life of bread and preserve it - to pump it up and plump it up in order to keep it fresh and enhance profitability.

Around the world, most countries wait about a week for flour to whiten on its own, but the American food processors prefer to use this chemical to bleach the flour here because time is money.

The United States is one of the only developed countries in the world that allows something used in shoes and gym mats to also be used in sandwiches. You can get up to 15 years in prison and be fined nearly half a million dollars for using this chemical in Singapore. It is banned as a food additive and in food packaging in the United Kingdom whose “Health and Safety Executive” considers it a “respiratory sensitizer.” Europe and Australia ban the use of this chemical, azodicarbonamide, too, because it has been linked to asthma and other allergic reactions, as cited by the World Health Organization.

But not here. So are we allergic to wheat or what is being done to it?

In the last twenty years, we have seen an epidemic increase in allergies, asthma, ADHD and autism, including a:

400% increase in food allergies
300% increase in asthma, with a 56% increase in asthma deaths

It's time to rethink food, rethink the role of the FDA in light of its shrinking budget and capacity to regulate our food system, and to require that independent scientific studies be conducted, not only for the health of our children, but also for the sake of our increasingly burdened health care system and the toll that the chronic rates of diseases and their escalating costs are having on the health of our economy.

Additional information is available from the World Health Organization as well as azodicarbonamide's classification as an "asthmagen" by the Health and Safety Executive's office.

Follow Robyn on Twitter @unhealthytruth and on Facebook. She is a former financial analyst and author.

Robyn O'Brien @unhealthytruth Feb 5
Dear @Subway, thanks for removing azodicarbonamide. We know a child who died from an allergic reaction in a Subway. ~ Robyn & AllergyKids.

[HereSince1628]

8. Especially if they are "influential" n/t

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Why isn't the present bread, replete with plastic, recalled immediately?

Not in stages, not in selected regions. Now, everywhere.

[Jesus Malverde]

4. The jarrod diet - maybe the plastic coating keeps your colon from absorbing food...nt

[marions ghost]

11. Makes ya wonder. And why--only in America--was it ever in Subway products?

From the foodbabe website:

Subway is using this ingredient as a bleaching agent and dough conditioner which allows them to produce bread faster and cheaper without regard to the following health consequences and alarming facts:

* The World Health Organization (1) has linked it to respiratory issues, allergies and asthma.
* When a truck carrying azodicarbonamide overturned on a Chicago highway in 2001, it prompted city officials to issue the highest hazardous materials alert and evacuate people within a half mile radius! Many of the people on the scene complained of burning eyes and skin irritation as a result. (3)
* The U.K. Health And Safety Executive has recognized azodicarbonamide as a potential cause of asthma. (4)
* When azodicarbonamide is heated, there are studies that show it is linked to tumor development and cancer. (5)
* Not only is this ingredient banned in Europe and Australia, but you also get fined 450,000 dollars if you get caught using it in Singapore and can serve 15 years in prison (2).

[NCTraveler]

27. Because the chemical is approved for use in this manner.

Most bread at the big box stores has this chemical in it. Not all of them, but most of them. The direction the activists took was that of Subways claim of being fresh. Using this chemical goes against that claim. The chemical is banned in a couple of countries for consumption, but it is not in the US.

[indie9197]

5. Fresh artisan-type bread is one of the keys to a good sub

and it is not much harder to make than crappy bread. You just have to make it fresh every day. I saw a commercial that Panera does this but I have not eaten there. Subway definitely does not use the best ingredients, especially the meats.

Here is the MSDS for azodiacarbonamide. Yikes! No more Subway for me. Why can't we just eat real food? What else are they putting in their food?

http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9922989

[proverbialwisdom]

9. More.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/subway-takes-chemical-sandwich-bread-protest/story?id=22373414

Subway Takes Chemical Out of Sandwich Bread After Protest
Feb. 5, 2014
By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES

[img][/img]

Vani Hari, the 'food babe' blogger, is petitioning Subway to take a plastic chemical out of its bread


Subway said today it is removing a chemical used in yoga mats and shoe soles from the bread of it its popular sandwiches after a food blogger got more than 50,000 signatures in a petition drive.

"The complete conversion to have this product out of the bread will be done soon," Subway said in a statement. The company said the move had nothing to do with the protest and that it was "already in the process of removing azodicarbonamide as part of our bread improvement efforts."

But Vani Hari, the activist blogger who takes credit for the removal of yellow dyes in at least three of Kraft's Mac & Cheese products for children, was declaring victory after she had been researching the company's bread ingredients since 2012.

"I commend Subway for finally responding to me and now over 57,000 concerned citizens. Their swift action is a testament to what power petitions and individuals who sign them can have," Hari said. "I'd like to note that current Subway sandwiches still have this ingredient, and urge everyone not to eat their sandwich bread until they have finally removed the chemical."

<>

[Jesus Malverde]

10. Great picture with the yoga mat. Drives it home..nt

[marions ghost]

12. Vani Hari

Keep going!

[Jesus Malverde]

34. ^^^This^^^

We often overlook the keys to change. Thanks for pointing that out.

She does Rock!

[TheMathieu]

13. Apparently, I am grossly underinformed about the ingredients in my food.

Eat Subway regularly and was totally unaware of this chemical.

[marions ghost]

15. Americans are grossly underinformed about a lot of hazards

...no regulations. "Buyer Beware" and all that. We have to research everything. Need consumer advocates like this woman who spearheaded the issue. Because we have so little real protection.

[laundry_queen]

20. I didn't know either and I usually know this stuff

but I stopped eating Subway awhile ago when everything started tasting fake and their chicken breasts changed into pressed chicken sludge. ew. I wonder when they started up with this additive?

[TeeYiYi]

41. My cat won't eat the chicken from Subway...

...even if he's starving, but he'll eat the tuna.

TYY

[laundry_queen]

42. ha! That sounds like a dog I once had who wouldn't eat microwave popcorn

I figured he had a good reason and I switched to making my own on the stove top, LOL. He like that stuff much better.

Animals know.

[HuckleB]

47. It's not harmful.

Vani Hari is misinforming people. She is fear mongering in order to make bank.

That's what we should be angry about.

[butterfly77]

16. What about the meat and vegetables?

[leeroysphitz]

17. I wish she could talk Mcdonalds into removing the silicone from the Mcnuggets. n/t

Last edited Thu Feb 6, 2014, 08:42 PM - Edit history (1)

[cui bono]

21. Anyone still eating at McDonalds deserves what they get.

Their "food" has been pretty well documented by now.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

28. I'm guessing kids are one of the top consumers of mcnuggets.

They don't have a choice in what garbage their lazy parents give them.

[cui bono]

29. Sad, but true.

Which is why we need real regulation. The crap that's allowed to be sold as food in this country is really disgusting.

[proverbialwisdom]

18. More.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/06/health/subway-bread-chemical/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Subway to remove 'dough conditioner' chemical from bread
By Elizabeth Landau, CNN
updated 1:23 PM EST, Thu February 6, 2014

[demigoddess]

19. haven't eaten there in a while

but won't eat there again until this is removed. I like my food to be food. More petitions I can sign???

[proverbialwisdom]

22. More.

http://foodbabe.com/2013/09/23/are-you-eating-this-ingredient-banned-all-over-the-world/

September 23, 2013
Popular Products That Contain Azodicarbonamide

Sara Lee (many of their breads, bagels, etc.)
McDonalds (almost all their breads, baked goods, bagels, etc.)
Subway Breads (many items on the menu)
Wendy’s (many items on the menu)
Arby’s (almost all of their different breads)
Starbucks

These are just a few examples, but there are many more companies that use azodicarbonamide in their products (Pizza Hut, Publix Grocery Store, Jason’s Deli, etc). There is a very good list of other companies and brands that use this ingredient on the “Good Guide” – check it out here.

OLD LINK FROM NEW TWEET: http://www.goodguide.com/ingredients/37393-azodicarbonamide?category_id=255896-sliced-whole-grain-bread

[Jesus Malverde]

23. Thank you

Last time I had wendys I was sick for three days....

interesting Starbucks has plastic in their breads.

[kentuck]

25. Anyone ready for a class action suit??

I always thought their bread was a little tough.

[yuiyoshida]

26. What happened to "EAT FRESH"

yuck..

[Boudica the Lyoness]

30. Azodiacarbonamide is in Burger King buns

and croutons. Most fast food places use it.

Another chemical that Americans are gobbling down is potassium bromate.

http://www.livescience.com/36206-truth-potassium-bromate-food-additive.html

http://www.decodedscience.com/potassium-bromate-cancer/27263

I am very ill with a autoimmune disease.. I spent two months in England and went into remission, for the first time in many years. In England I ate baked goods and did not get the awful reaction like I get in the US, where I avoid all baked goods, unless I bake them myself with poison free flour.

Potassium Bromate is banned in the rest of the world!

I don't know if it is the potassium bromate or the azodiacarbonamide that makes me ill. I avoid both.

[cbdo2007]

31. Not sure what the big deal is. It's not any more gross than half the rest of the

stuff most Americans eat.

Go pull a random box out of your cabinet and read through the list. Half of this stuff is man-made chemicals that are used in a plethora of other strange and random items.

[sendero]

32. Eat Fresh!..

.... chemicals!

I'm getting to the point where when I buy a prepared/processed food, if the ingredient list has too many "what the hell is that?" items on it, I pass.

I don't want to eat foam rubber, I don't give two shits what our worthless FDA says.

[Aerows]

36. "What the hell is that?"

Is a pretty good way to tell if you are eating something good or bad for you!

[proverbialwisdom]

33. Update.

http://foodbabe.com/2014/02/07/subway-update/

http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/chemical-subway-ditched-yep-everywhere-184741616.html

[img][/img]

That chemical Subway ditched? Yep, it's everywhere

By Katie Little | CNBC – 23 hours ago

<>

According to restaurant websites, here is a list of some products that contain it as an ingredient:

McDonald's (MCD): regular bun, bakery style bun, bagel and English muffin, Big Mac bun and sesame seed bun.
Burger King (BKW): specialty buns, artisan-style bun, sesame seed bun, croissant, English muffin, home-style Caesar croutons and French toast sticks.
Wendy's (WEN): bagel, premium toasted bun, sandwich bun and panini bread
Arby's: croissant, French toast sticks, harvest wheat bun, honey wheat bread, marble rye bread, mini bun, onion bread and sesame seed bun
Jack in the Box (JACK): bakery style bun, jumbo bun, croissant, grilled sourdough bread and regular bun
Chick-fil-A: chargrilled chicken sandwich, chicken salad sandwich, and chargrilled chicken club sandwich
Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Wendy's, Arby's and Jack in the Box did not respond to multiple attempts for comment.

Following Subway's announcement, McDonald's spokeswoman Lisa McComb told CNBC: "Azodicarbonamide is commonly used throughout the baked goods industry, and this includes some of the bread goods on our menu. While this ingredient is recognized as safe and approved by the FDA, we listen to our customers and evolve to continue to serve the great tasting, quality food they expect from McDonald's. This ingredient, like all the ingredients we use, is available to consumers on our website."

In an email to CNBC, Dunkin' Donuts (DNKN) said, "There are trace amounts of azodicarbonamide, a common ingredient approved as safe by the Food and Drug Administration, in three Dunkin' Donuts bakery items, including the Danish, Croissant and Texas Toast. All of our products comply with federal, state and local food safety standards and regulations. We are evaluating the use of the ingredient as a dough conditioner in our products and currently discussing the matter with our suppliers."

Following Hari's petition, the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest lobbied for the USDA to consider barring it. It noted that when bread containing the chemical is baked, it produces the carcinogen urethane and "leads to slightly increased levels of urethane in bread that pose a small risk to humans" when azodicarbonamide is used at its maximum limit.

More.

(Many links to same article go to blank page.)

[Aerows]

35. All I know is that their flatbread sandwiches?

DELICIOUS

[proverbialwisdom]

37. Schumer Calls on FDA to Ban Cancer-Causing Chemical Used by Fast Food Chains

http://www.ny1.com/content/pages/203360/schumer-calls-on-fda-to-ban-cancer-causing-chemical-used-by-fast-food-chains

Schumer Calls on FDA to Ban Cancer-Causing Chemical Used by Fast Food Chains
By: NY1 News Updated 1:43 PM

[img][/img]

Sen. Chuck Schumer is calling on the FDA to issue a nationwide ban on a cancer-causing chemical used in several fast food bread products.

Schumer wants to make sure other fast food outlets follow Subway's lead in no longer using Azodicarbonamide in breads.

The chemical is typically used in shoes, yoga mats and other rubbery products.

Schumer says other fast food chains need to stop using it.

"The Subway chain has done it on its own. We're asking other chains to do it on their own. But we're asking the FDA to ban it so nobody uses it. When it comes to carcinogens, we can't be too careful. Cancer's on the rise. We're never quite sure why. Why not be safe rather than sorry?" Schumer said at a press conference in front of a McDonald's in Hell's Kitchen.

The chemical is already banned in both the European Union and Australia.

[proverbialwisdom]

38. WTSP TV: "FDA insists bread additive removed by Subway is safe."

http://www.wtsp.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=3167712303001

NEWS VIDEO: FDA insists bread additive removed by Subway is safe

While the US government has no plans of changing its recommendation other companies are following suit, removing Azodicarbonamide from their bread products.

[FreeState]

39. Now if only they would add back in the whole grains - processed crap n/t

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

40. This is the headline to me...

Michelle Obama becomes Subway’s newest celeb partner


http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/23/michelle-obama-becomes-newest-face-promote-subway-/

[proverbialwisdom]

43. Fallon; McDonald's Taiwan; Occupy Food.

http://focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201402090021.aspx

McDonald's Taiwan says all products free of plastic-based additive
2014/02/09 23:00:38

Taipei, Feb. 9 (CNA) McDonald's Taiwan has declared that all breads, pancakes and cakes sold at its outlets in Taiwan are free of Azodicarbonamide, a plastic-based additive, amid food safety concerns sparked by reports that the chemical was found in breads sold by a sandwich chain.

The McDonald's made the declaration in a statement released on its official website Sunday, and said all the products are produced in Taiwan.

The company has declared the previous day that it respects Taiwan's regulations governing food sanitation. It underlined its use of strict quality control procedures to ensure all food products are in accordance with the quality and safety standards in the country.

The McDonald's U.S. headquarters has recently issued a statement on its official website, rebuking rumors saying its McRib contains harmful chemicals.

<>

https://www.facebook.com/OccupyFood

[img][/img]

[Tree-Hugger]

44. It's in "regular" bread, too

If you read the ingredients on many loaves of bread/rolls/buns in your local grocery store, you will find this ingredient in them...along with other questionable ingredients. In the store we frequent, azodicarbomide is in just about every loaf. I believe there are about 3 brands that do not contain it in our store....last I checked. It's a hard one to avoid and seems to be prevalent in cheaper brands.

[proverbialwisdom]

45. Unbelievable backstory.

Last edited Mon Feb 10, 2014, 10:56 AM - Edit history (1)

http://www.forbes.com/companies/subway/

Subway

Brand Value - $5.7 B
Revenue - $18.1 B
As of November 2013

Sources: Thomson Reuters Fundamentals and Worldscope via FactSet Research Systems; Forbes.

Profile: Subway is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates. It is the largest single-restaurant chain globally with more than 40,000 locations in 100 countries. Fred DeLuca borrowed $1,000 from family friend Peter Buck, to open his first sandwich shop in Bridgeport, Conn. in 1965. DeLuca continues to oversee the day-to-day operations of the company, while fellow billionaire Buck has become less active over the years. Subway has a robust social community with more than 25 million Facebook fans.

Wikipedia: Subway (restaurant)

SUBWAY
Type: Privately held company

Subway (stylized as SUBWAY) is an American fast food restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches (subs) and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world, with 40,855 restaurants in 105 countries and territories as of January 1, 2014.[1] It is the largest single-brand restaurant chain and the largest restaurant operator globally.[3][4][5]

Subway's main operations office is in Milford, Connecticut; five regional centers support Subway's growing international operations. The regional offices for European franchises are located in Amsterdam, Netherlands; the Australia and New Zealand locations are supported from Brisbane, Australia; the Asian locations are supported from offices located in Beirut, Lebanon, and Singapore; and the Latin America support center is in Miami, Florida.[6]

Early history
In 1965, Fred DeLuca borrowed $1,000 from friend Peter Buck to start "Pete's Super Submarines" in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and in the following year they formed Doctor's Associates Inc to oversee operations of the restaurants as the franchise expanded.[7] The holding company derives its name from Fred DeLuca's goal to earn enough from the business to pay tuition for medical school, as well as Peter Buck's having a doctorate in physics.[8] Doctor's Associates is not affiliated with, nor endorsed by, any medical organization.[9] In 1968, the sandwich shop began using the name "Subway" for the first time.[7]

<>

Since 2007, Subway has consistently ranked in Entrepreneur magazine's Top 500 Franchises list. It ranked #2 in 2012. It also ranked #2 on the "Fastest Growing Franchise" and "Global Franchise" lists.[13] At the end of 2010, Subway became the largest fast food chain worldwide, with 33,749 restaurants – 1,012 more than McDonald's.[14] In terms of revenue, McDonald's still led Subway.

[proverbialwisdom]

46. Haven't seen this subject mentioned in THE NEW YORK TIMES; brief WSJ (+ ONION) articles here.

NYT: ZIP

http://online.wsj.com/article/AP2c34add9ba784e9ab9a82048c806419f.html

Updated February 9, 2014, 5:47 p.m. ET
NY Sen. Schumer asks FDA to ban bread chemical

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Sen. Charles Schumer is calling on the Food and Drug Administration to ban a chemical used in bread.

Schumer launched a campaign against the chemical Sunday, following an announcement last week by the Subway chain that it was voluntarily removing it from its bread. Subway's move came after a food blogger launched a petition against the chemical, which has been linked to asthma.

Schumer said the chemical azodicarbonamide is banned for use in food in many countries and is used primarily to make rubbery products such as yoga mats and shoe rubber. He said many fast-food chains use it to condition their bread dough.

Schumer said when the chemical is heated during bread-baking, it forms trace amounts of semicarbazide, a known carcinogen which can cause tumors in humans.

SATIRE: http://www.theonion.com/articles/subway-removing-shoe-rubber-chemical-from-sandwich,35213/