16 Companies Taking Some ‘Junk’ Out of Their Food
The chocolate king says it will remove GMOs from Hershey’s Milk Chocolate and Kisses by the end of 2015. It also plans to swap genetically modified sugar beet to cane sugar and will switch to a non-GM soy lecithin for the brands. Hershey also said it will remove the emulsifier polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) and artificial vanillin from products.
The company is also introducing “simple snacking products” without high-fructose corn syrup or artificial colors and flavors.
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The sandwich chain said it would remove artificial colors, flavors and preservatives from all menu items across North America over the next 18 months. Last year the company removed azodicarbonamide (“yoga mat chemical”) from its food and removed two flavor enhancers from its chicken teriyaki reciple in March.
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The company announced in April that by August, Diet Pepsi will be aspartame-free. The drink will instead be sweetened with a blend of sucralose (Splenda) and another sweetener known as Ace K.
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Nestle pledged to stop using artificial colorings and flavorings in all chocolate candy products. By the end of 2015, over 250 products and 10 brands will be free of artificial flavors and certified colors.
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Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, both owned by Yum Brands, announced they are removing artificial flavors and colors from their menus. Pizza Hut plans to implement the change by the end of July and Taco Bell will remove them, along with high-fructose corn syrup and unsustainable palm oil, from most of its products by the end of the year. Sodas and co-branded items will be exempt from the changes.
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The chain announced last month it will ditch over 150 food additives by the end of 2016. The additives include artificial colorings, preservatives, monosodium gluatamate, titanium dioxide, and the "yoga mat" chemical, azodicarbonamide. The pledge does not yet apply to its restaurants in Canada.
The international leader in the food industry plans to eliminate use of human antibiotics in its chicken flocks by September 2017. It is also working on ways to curtail such practices at its other pork and beef businesses.
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The fast food chain promised to remove sugary soda from its children’s menu.
The fried chicken chain said in 2014 that it plans to switch to chickens raised without antibiotics in all its restaurants within five years.
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The restaurant chain announced it had removed all GMOs from its menu, yet still uses meat from animals that may feed on GMO corn or soybeans. Phasing that out will probably take several years.
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The chain says it will remove sodas from its kids’ meals on menu boards and replace them with milk and water.
The pizza giant is reportedly spending $100 million a year to remove artificial additives from its menu items.
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The coffee and bagel chain announced this year that it will remove titanium dioxide, a food-coloring agent used in sunscreen and plants, from all powdered sugar.
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The food giant announced in June that it is working to remove all artifical colors and flavors from all its cereals, including Trix, Reese's Puffs and Lucky Charms, by the end of 2016. Reformulating the marshmallows in some cereals may be more challenging and could take longer. The company is also looking at changing some of its other products, such as Green Giant vegetables.
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Starting in January 2016, the brand is dropping artificial preservatives and synthetic colors in Original Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. It also plans on replacing synthetic colors (including Yellow 5 and Yellow 6) with colors derived from natural sources such as paprika, annatto and turmeric.
© Eduardo Munoz / Reuters
The downtrodden fast food chain is planning on removing unrecognizable ingredients from its grilled chicken recipe. The new recipe calls for 12 ingredients instead of 18 and doesn’t use maltodextrin, used increase browning or as a carrier for seasoning. The chicken will also be cooked with a blend of olive oil and canola oil and herb seasoning instead of liquid margarine. The chain will also stop using sodium phosphates in favor of vegetable starch.
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