Nutrition in the News: Healthier Fast Food?

Seems like everyone wants to jump on the latest trends in healthier food.   Many people are now choosing Chipotle over McDonald�s.   More of us are shunning artificial ingredients and artificial flavors in favor of real food.   So what is the Fast Food industry doing to get on the healthier bandwagon?  They are going to start removing artificial ingredients, preservatives and colorings from their food.  Who is doing what?

• Subway � I like Subway as one can get whole grain bread, lean meat and veggies on a sandwich.  They will be removing artificial colors, flavors and preservatives.
• Papa John�s � who doesn�t like pizza?  We usually avoid Papa John�s because of all the sugar they put in the sauce, it just tastes sweet.  But Papa John�s is planning on cutting out 14 not so healthy ingredients, like high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, artificial colors.  When?  By the end of 2016. They have already made some strides taking out MSG from their Ranch Dressing and eliminated trans fats from their garlic sauce.
• Pizza Hut � They are working fast to eliminate all artificial flavors and colors by the end of July.  Pizza Hut is also focusing on sodium, cutting back on sodium in its offerings but that will take until 2020.
• Taco Bell:  By the end of this year, they will be removing artificial flavors and colors.  And by the end of 2017, they will get rid of artificial preservatives and additives.
• Chipotle � already a healthier option, this chain will now use non-GMO ingredients.  Next they will eliminate artificial preservatives, still used in burritos.
• Panera Bread � another favorite as it offers many healthy options.  By the end of 2016, this chain is removing 150, yes 150 artificial additives. (One wonders why they had so many artificial additives in the first place.)

Although removing artificial ingredients is a good trend, Americans eat too much added fat and added sugar.  None of these restaurants are focusing on removing the empty calories of added sugar or lowering the fat content of their food offerings.  How about at least taking the added sugar out of the pizza?

Sources:  Cutting out Artificial Ingredients, Image Source: Panera Bread

Nutrition in the News

Good news for consumers.  Many manufacturers and fast food restaurants are making healthful changes in their food offerings.   In the last few weeks, Kraft, Chipotle, and Pepsi have made announcements about upcoming changes.  What drove these changes?  You the consumer, did by requesting healthier options.   It is usually the government forcing manufacturers to make changes and now with social media, the consumer is in the driver�s seat.  So what is changing?

Kraft

Macaroni and Cheese:   has announced it is going to make macaroni and cheese without the synthetic colors or artificial preservatives. 

This change won�t take place until early 2016, but is good news for consumers.  Last March, a Change.org petition requested Kraft remove dyes from its mac and cheese.   This petition garnered over 365,000 signatures so carried a lot of weight with the company.  Before complying, Kraft went to the streets and met with families in their homes, talked to people in grocery stores. 

Dyes � yellow numbers 5 and 6 will be removed.   These will be replaced with paprika, annatto and turmeric to help keep the yellow color.

Capri Sun � Kraft has already replaced high fructose corn syrup with sugar in their Capri Sun products.  Healthier?  Maybe but Capri Sun isn�t a healthy choice.  Better to have 100% juice than Capri Sun.

Chipotle has removed genetically altered ingredients.  Since 2013, Chipotle noted which items contained GMO�s.  Is Chipotle GMO free?  Not exactly as some soft drinks contain sweeteners with GMO corn, and some of its meat and dairy still come from GMO grains fed animals. 

Pepsi � for those who enjoy Pepsi, this summer look for changes.  Pepsi announced it will replace the high fructose corn syrup with sugar.  Probably a move because soft drink consumption is on the decline.  But also because of growing consumer concerns about high fructose corn syrup. 

Panera Bread � I like Panera bread.  One can get a reasonably priced and healthy meal at Panera.  So what changes are they planning?  By 2016, they are dropping 150 artificial ingredients  like  saccharin, aspartame, maltodextrin, Azodicarbonamide,  Ethoxyquin. 

High Fructose Corn Syrup � probably good that manufacturers are replacing this in foods.  I have always tried to avoid it as much as possible.  A recent study has shown that drinking beverages sweetened with high fructose corn syrup can increase cholesterol and triglycerides in only two week.  The lead author noted, � It was a surprise that adding as little as the equivalent of a half-can of soda at breakfast, lunch and dinner was enough to produce significant increases in risk factors for cardiovascular disease,� said the lead author, Kimber L. Stanhope, a research scientist at the University of California, Davis. (High Fructose Corn Syrup)

Sources:  Kraft, Chipotle, Pepsi, Panera, High Fructose Corn Syrup Image source:  Kraft