Subway removing 'shoe rubber' chemical from bread
ERJ staff report (BC)
New York – The Subway takeaway sandwich chain says it's in the process of removing azodicarbonamide from its bread “as part of an ongoing effort to improve its recipes”, Candice Choi reported in the “Food for thought” section of the Huffington Post, from an Associated Press source.
The announcement came after a popular food blogger launched a petition asking the chain to stop using the ingredient. A representative for Subway says the change was underway before the petition was launched, but did not immediately provide details on when it started or when it would be complete.
"The complete conversion to have this product out of the bread will be done soon," Subway said in a statement, without providing further details.
Vani Hari, who runs FoodBabe.com, has targeted other food companies including Kraft for the chemicals in their products.
In the latest petition targeting Subway, Hari stated that the azodicarbonamide used in its bread "as a bleaching agent" is also used to make yoga mats and shoe rubber. The petition noted that Subway doesn't use the ingredient in its breads in Europe, Australia or other parts of the world.
Although the ingredient is used in other food products, Hari said she focused on Subway because of the healthy image it tries to project. Subway has endorsement deals with Olympic athletes.
"This is not eating fresh!" Hari's petition said.
Azodicarbonamide is used as a chemical foaming agent for rubber products. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDI) approves its use in food as an ageing and bleaching ingredient in cereal flour in an amount not to exceed … 0.0045 percent (45 parts per million), and as a dough conditioner in bread baking up to the same concentration.
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Full story from the Huffington Post
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