Subway: 'Yoga mat chemical' almost out of bread

[unhappycamper]

http://gazette.com/subway-yoga-mat-chemical-almost-out-of-bread/article/1518069



FILE - This Aug. 11, 2009, file photo, shows a chicken breast sandwich and water from Subway on a kitchen counter in New York. Subway says an ingredient dubbed the "yoga mat" chemical will be entirely phased out of its bread by the week of April 14, 2014. The disclosure comes as Subway has suffered from an onslaught of bad publicity since a food blogger petitioned the chain to remove the ingredient.

Subway: 'Yoga mat chemical' almost out of bread
Associated Press - • Updated: April 11, 2014 at 11:51 am • Published: April 11, 2014

NEW YORK — Subway says an ingredient dubbed the "yoga mat chemical" will be entirely phased out of its bread by next week.

The disclosure comes as Subway has suffered from an onslaught of bad publicity since a food blogger petitioned the chain to remove the ingredient.

The ingredient, azodicarbonamide, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in food as a bleaching agent and dough conditioner. It can be found in a wide variety of products, including those served at McDonald's, Burger King and Starbucks and breads sold in supermarkets. But its long, unfamiliar name has an unappetizing ring, and the petition became a flashpoint in part by noting that the chemical is also used to make yoga mats.

Tony Pace, Subway's chief marketing officer, told the AP in a phone interview that the chain had started phasing out the ingredient late last year and that the process should be complete within a week. Subway is privately held and doesn't disclose its sales figures. But it has apparently been feeling pressure from the uproar.

[adirondacker]

1. I wonder if they're going to replace it with human hair....

"For his recent Mother Jones story on the origins of the "remy" hair used in high-end wigs and extensions worthy of Lady Gaga, Scott Carney sacrificed his own locks to a Hindu temple, but explained that clippings from short hair like his are used mainly as fertilizer or source material for a ubiquitous food additive called L-cysteine (L-cys for short). This amino acid, which gives hair its strength, also gives Noah's bagels their bounce, puts the softness in Tastykakes, and imparts mom-made freshness to Lunchables. It's a meat flavor enhancer and an expectorant, too—and has even turned up on a list of cigarette additives."

http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/03/human-hair-additive-your-food