Food industry is caving to consumer demands for natural ingredients
In his聽, author Michael Pollan cautions against consuming foods that our great-great-great grandmothers wouldn鈥檛 recognize. However, that鈥檚 often easier said than done.
While a聽聽indicates that an increasing number of Americans want fresh, natural, and minimally processed foods,聽, also known as the yoga mat chemical, has been identified聽. Still, the tides are turning as fast casual restaurants, fast food chains, and even multinationals are responding to pressure, especially from Millennials, for food made without artificial ingredients.
In 2013, industry leader Chipotle聽聽to indicate which items on their menu contained genetically modified (GM) ingredients. Today, the company is currently working on聽聽to remove propionic and benzoic acid, two preservatives used to inhibit the growth of mold and bacteria. Similarly, by the end of 2016, bakery chain Panera Bread will eliminate all artificial preservatives, sweeteners, colors, and flavors identified on their聽聽Some examples include nitrates and nitrites, titanium dioxide (used to add brightness to cheese), and aluminum potassium sulfate.
Faced with lagging sales, fast food chains are making changes to prevent falling further behind. Taco Bell will聽聽鈥渨here possible鈥� by the end of 2017 while McDonald鈥檚 has reduced the number of聽聽from 18 to 12. Multinationals such as General Mills and Kraft are also following suit, with the cereal brand planning to use聽聽instead of green and blue dyes in Trix. Starting in 2016, Kraft macaroni and cheese eaters will see聽replace Yellow No. 5 and 6.
As industry standards for transparency in the supply chain continue to evolve, consumers can consult the Environmental Working Group鈥檚聽聽for information on nutrition, ingredient, and processing concerns in more than 80,000 foods.
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