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Fast-Food Chains Have a New Year’s Resolution: Drop the Junk

| January 2, 2015 Comment

Fast-food chains have a New Year’s resolution: Drop the junk – Major fast-food chains made a resolution for 2015 to transform their junk food image.

As people express distaste for food they think is overly processed, McDonald’s, Taco Bell and other chains are trying to shed their reputation for serving reheated meals that are loaded with chemicals. That includes rethinking the use of artificial preservatives and other ingredients customers find objectionable.

It’s not clear how far fast-food companies will go in reformulating recipes. But the nation’s biggest chains are facing growing competition from the so-called fast-casual chains like Chipotle and Panera, that use organic foods and are removing artificial ingredients like flavors, colors, and preservatives from their foods.

There has been a lot of hue and cry over the use of dangerous chemicals in foods, such as azodicarbonamide, used by chains like Subway to condition bread dough, which is also used in yoga mats. A report from the Environmental Working Group early last year found that the compound, azodicarbonamide, is used in close to 500 food products, from Pillsbury Dinner Rolls to Little Debbie products to Wonder Bread.

Other ingredients on the no-no-list for chains include brominated vegetable oil (BVO) and high-fructose corn syrup. BVO is banned in many countries because it’s been linked to behavioral and reproductive problems when consumed in large doses.

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