Subway Takes Chemical Out of Sandwich Bread After Protest

[jakeXT]

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."

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

[Laffy Kat]

1. Wonder if that what gives Subways that weird "Subway" smell.

I can't even enter one. Other sandwich shops don't have that smell.

[doc03]

2. I thought it was just me. There is something about that smell that

nearly makes me sick. I used to buy Subway fairly often but the last couple years their bread is terrible, it is like it is infused with air somehow. I liked Quisnos subs but they closed all their stores in this area last year. I buy my subs at Sub Express in Convenient anymore their bread may come in frozen but it is far better than Subway.

on edit: After reading the full article I was right it said the chemical helps add air to yoga mats and it does the same for bread.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. I quit eating Subway years ago because of the bread

It was like eating nothing...the bread did not feel substantial at all when I ate it.
So, come to find out, eh? It WAS air.
what a chicken shit way to save pennies....cotton bread.

[doc03]

4. It mashes down to nothing, they must get twice as much

bread from the mix that way. I am glad I quit eating it now. Those people should be in jail and
they say eat healthy with Subway, bullshit.

[thesquanderer]

5. "a chemical used in yoga mats and shoe soles" is irrelevant.

Last edited Thu Feb 6, 2014, 10:50 AM - Edit history (1)

I'm not saying it's not a good idea to take out the chemical, but I hate these stories where they scare the public by saying that some food ingredient is used in {insert name of thing you would never eat}.

What ELSE something is used for is totally irrelevant to whether or not something is healthy. It's strictly a PR stunt by activists, a way to get more attention.

H20 is used in TONS of inedible products, but you don't see people clamoring to have water removed from their food products.

[jakeXT]

6. It's probably because of the mechanism

The World Health Organization has linked this chemical additive to respiratory issues, allergies and asthma, and it is banned in Europe and Australia. Azodiacarbonamide is legal in the United States and Canada.

"It helps ... produce the air within the foam of a yoga mat," said Hari. "It does the same thing for bread."

[hedgehog]

8. Yeah, I use yeast to produce air bubbles in my bread!

My guess is that the chemical eliminates the step of having to allow the bread to rise. I think the workers who are inhaling the stuff all day are the ones in real danger.

[skepticscott]

7. It's also a weaselly scare tactic

to say that if you can't spell or pronounce the name of a chemical, then it's probably bad for you.

Tell us that while you're enjoying your daily dose of 1,3,7-trimethyl-2,6 dioxopurine.

[HuckleB]

10. Indeed. This is a case of chemophobia, pure and simple.

We're dumbing ourselves down every day, it seems.

The Real Damage of Chemophobia
http://www.thecollapsedwavefunction.com/2014/02/the-real-damage-of-chemophobia.html

"...

Finally, this morning I read a petition by the self described "Food Babe" to Subway. In it she demands that Subway stop using the chemical azodicarbonamide. She claims that eating a Subway sandwich with azodicarbonamide is the same as eating a yoga mat. This claim isn't new. Chemistry blogger Derek Lowe handily debunked the claim nearly 8 months ago. Azodicarbonamide has been documented to cause respiratory problems but only in high concentrations. The dough contains very, very low concentrations. The bread is made even more safe by the fact that none of the chemical even exists in the bread; it breaks down when heated (a process that I'm pretty sure all the bread you've ever eaten has gone through. Bread needs to be baked after all). Azodicarbonamide is completely safe in your bread and there is no need to worry. Imagine my surprise, then, when just 24 hours after posting the petition on her website the Food Babe gets a direct reply from Subway. It took only one petition and 24 hours for Subway to begin changing their recipe.

..."

[womanofthehills]

9. I almost ate at Subway yesterday - but could not do it

My boyfriend was having day surgery and the only restaurant in the hospital was Subway. I waited in line but when I got to the front, the smells and the looks of the food made me sick and I left - found some yogurt at another small stand. Now that I read this, glad I didn't eat there.

[HuckleB]

11. The food tastes and smells bad, but you had nothing to fear.

http://www.thecollapsedwavefunction.com/2014/02/the-real-damage-of-chemophobia.html

[HuckleB]

12. Idiotic food blogger persuades Subway to remove additive from bread

http://www.examiner.com/article/idiotic-food-blogger-persuades-subway-to-remove-additive-from-bread

[HuckleB]

13. Why I'm Not Worried About Yoga Mat Chemicals in My Food

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/monica-reinagel-ms-ldn-cns/azodicarbonamide-subway_b_4770189.html

"...

Let's try to put the image of that blogger tearing a bite off of her yoga mat out of our minds, set aside our irrational chemophobia, and take more level-headed look at this chemical. Why is it in our food and how much harm is it doing?

...

Besides, as I said earlier, you don't actually ingest any azodicarbonamide when you eat bread made with it. During the mixing process, it breaks down into a compound called biurea, a comopund that is readily excreted from the body. Other byproducts include semicarbazide and ethyl carbamate.

...

If you're really concerned about your health, I suggest skipping the fast food joints altogether and making make more of your food at home, using whole foods. How about we try to eat less white bread and more fruits and vegetables? Let's make our peace with the fact that eating real food sometimes costs more and/or takes more time but is well worth the investment.

But above all, let's not waste our consumer power tilting at windmills and yoga mats. I think our energy and passion would be better spent pushing for meaningful reform of the Farm Bill, for example, or improving school lunch programs and nutrition curricula in our schools."

[womanofthehills]

14. I got up to the front of the Subway line

but I just could not order - Gross!!