BREAKING UPDATE May 4, 2015: Panera Bread has agreed to remove 150 additives from their food. Starting this week, Panera Bread will only sell salad dressing made without artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors and preservatives. This is the direct result of the ongoing pressure you and the Food Babe Army have put on companies to serve safer and more healthful ingredients. Thank you!
USA Today reported these additional details:
Some examples of artificial additive removal:
• Greek salad dressing — removed hydrogenated soy protein, maltodextrin, propylene glycol alginate, and the generic spice blend.
• Mozzarella on tomato mozzarella flatbread — removed titanium dioxide.
• Chicken noodle soup — removed hydrolyzed soy and corn protein, autolyzed yeast extract, and modified corn starch
• Poppyseed dressing —- removed cellulose gel and artificial flavors.
Please note: The action by Panera does not include the beverages it sells, though executives say they are working on that, too, particularly in bottled beverages.
The New York Times lists several other companies that are changing their ingredients (Hershey’s, Nestle, Chipotle, Nabisco, McDonalds and Tyson’s). This is all a result of our collective activism! Again, thank you for working for a better food system with me – we are winning!
Update June 3, 2014: Panera Bread announces they will remove all artificial colors, sweeteners, preservatives and flavors by 2016. Thank you #FoodBabeArmy for sharing this post continuously since April 2012 when it was first released. We are changing the world one company at a time by spreading the truth!
CNBC interviewed me about Panera committing to remove all artificial ingredients, here’s what I said: “Panera’s announcement is another example that consumer awareness and action is changing the food industry. … I appreciate Panera’s commitment to remove artificial ingredients and hope other major restaurant chains take notice to do the same.” (McDonalds, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Domino’s, etc. – listen up!!!) I investigated Panera Bread back in April 2012 because so many people (including my own parents) were under the impression it was healthy. Panera was even voted one of the healthiest fast food chains despite their overuse of artificial ingredients! I wanted people to know the truth and when people know the truth, these companies have no where to hide – they have to change to meet demand!
Original Investigation Published April 16, 2012:
My lovely mother sent me home with a bag full of home cooked food last week on Easter. It included her famous Indian flat bread stuffed with radishes, lentil soup and stir fried cauliflower. While everything was super delicious as usual, something caught me a little off guard… the Panera Bread bag she reused for me to carry home all those goodies.
Panera Bread is popping up all over the place…I see one outside my office window at work. I drove past three on my way to the park last Sunday…
And then while my friend Amy was traveling through a small town in South Carolina that I frequently visit, which is also a food desert (a place that shall remain nameless or my better half would kill me) … She texted with an urgent “Where do I stop to eat?” I didn’t have a good answer for her and I certainly didn’t suggest Panera Bread.
So given these signs, I had to feed my inner curiosity of why I just cringe at the thought of eating there. What I found was some startling ingredients this oh so fresh and so clean looking bakery style deli uses in their famous salads, sandwiches, soups and breads. With industrialized food sourcing over 90% of what Americans eat – It’s easy to get fooled, even with the simplest and freshest sounding menu items.
Luckily, Panera (like all companies should) provides you with all the information you need at your finger tips via their website where they list all the nutrition facts including the ingredients for all of their dishes. Here’s just a sampling of some of the ingredients that might make you think twice before stopping off for a bite…
First up – The Fuji Apple Salad. Looks pretty healthy doesn’t?
But nope… This salad is heavily processed. Those apple chips on top are made with canola oil and corn syrup which is highly likely to be genetically modified. The greek dressing has an ingredient most people use in their car engines as anti freeze aka propylene glycol… (If you want to know more about this substance – I go into detail about it in a Supermarket Birthday Cake Exposé.) Oh and look at all those tasty “natural” flavors (probably from Givaudan, a chemical food manufacturer).
And then if you are brave enough to order something as simple as a ham & swiss on rye… you’ll get a dosage of nitrates. Nitrates are dangerous for your health and are toxic to the brain. They are linked to Alzheimer’s and many forms of cancer. No one should be eating them. There’s really no reason to eat chemically preserved cured and smoked meat. Get it fresh, get it organic, and or don’t eat it at all. It’s that simple.
What about the whole grain bread… It’s got to be whole grain, right? They are Panera BREAD for goodness sakes.
Nope… Don’t get excited, it’s not 100% whole grain, just half. Like the rye bread that is used for the ham and swiss, the first ingredient after water, is enriched flour. There is nothing whole grain about enriched flour – this bread should actually be called half white bread if they were really going to name this correctly and were telling us the whole picture.
The most upsetting menu items were in the soup department… check out the hidden MSG in this Broccoli and Cheese Soup & Low Fat Black Bean Soup under disguise names “hydrolyzed corn and soy protein, autolyzed yeast extract and yeast extract” This is food industry trickery at it’s best! A little off topic, but relevant, the food company that makes Pop Chips is using this same trick too….I avoid this additive at all costs because MSG is an ingredient that literally excites your brain cells to death.
Now comes the worst part of this whole story. Health Magazine rated Panera Bread as the #1 Healthiest Fast Food Restaurant in America.
REALLLLLLY?! Is this the best fast food we can get? Does fast have to automatically assume processed? Salad dressing with propylene glycol? Meats with nitrates? Enriched bleached flour bread? Soup filled with MSG?! A whole menu full of GMOs?
Health Magazine looked at the use of healthy fats, sodium content and the use of organic produce to determine their top 10 restaurants. Panera Bread got the #1 spot because they offer organic yogurt, organic milk, and organic cheese on their award winning kids menu, which I have to admit is a step above places like McDonalds but they are still using the same cheap ingredients that other fast food restaurants use to make money and to get you hooked.
If you don’t go into Panera knowing all the facts, you can get duped pretty easily. Take for instance that acclaimed kid’s menu….if you end up ordering the kid’s ham sandwich instead of the grilled cheese for your little one, you end up feeding them nitrates, but it’s still considered the “healthiest” because your child has the option to wash it all down with organic milk.
Until fast food companies make some serious and bold decisions to be consistent in their messages about the quality of their food, what additives are in and not in their foods and use a measurable trusty worth standard – I won’t be buying it or supporting them. It’s far too confusing to keep up with all these ingredients for the typical consumer, so the food industry continues to win.
Luckily for us, in this case, we don’t have to work that hard to find the ingredient list. Let’s applaud Panera Bread for providing us the information to make good decisions about what we eat and what we feed our families.
Unfortunately for them, I’ll be looking elsewhere to spend my dollars. Where are you going to spend yours? And how do you get your food fast?
If you know someone who could benefit from hearing this information about Panera – please share this article with them.
In the Best of Health,
Food Babe
Food Babe, you continually criticize GMO’s. What is the reasoning?
Read an article or two and you will quickly learn the numerous danger of GMOs. Education is necessary to live healthy 🙂
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1778262
That is a link to a scientific publication on Dietary effects of propylene glycol alginate in humans, done in 1991. That took me 2 seconds to find. As a scientist and medical professional, I am abhorred by your lack of complete research. Every article of yours that I read presents good facts and then skews them based on your extreme views. You fail to present both sides of an argument. Just because something is used in motor oil doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing. You use diatomaceous earth in a swimming pool and on a lawn, yet people take it as a HEALTHY supplement.
There has also been significant research of late proving that nitrates actually have positive health benefits. Did you know that carrots are very high in nitrates? And beet juice. Nitrates are found in many food sources in significant quantities. However, like almost all things, consumed in too high of an amount, they can be harmful and possibly carcinogenic. But, then again, so can soy. And I have a feeling you consume soy!
I won’t go into how organic livestock actually has a lower quality of life than nonorganic livestock, because that’s another argument for another article.
I think it’s fantastic that you try to live a healthy lifestyle. However, before you tell the world how all of these companies and businesses are killing you, try to do sufficient research from ALL viewpoints. And maybe include a few more peer-reviewed scientific papers. Those are usually pretty good support for an argument. 🙂
omg, don’t you think scientists maybe paid to write some positive articles about all that sh.. industry makes?….
you took the words right out of my mouth!
You’re citing dietary effects of propylene glycol based on a seven day control period and also arguing that nitrates are beneficial to health? Great, so propylene glycol won’t give you diarrhea. You might be the worst “scientist and medical professional” in history.” Why don’t you try to find a LONG-TERM study showing that propylene glycol or nitrates won’t cause cancer or some form of endocrine disruption… Good luck with that because you won’t find it. Who do you work for? Monsanto?
Hi,
That’s right we don’t want any GMO in our food,
Monsanto what joke they are, we need Organic
resturants here in New York and everywhere else.
Vera,
to all chemists out there, i think the point is propylene glycol is petroleum based, which is used in your car and many foods and plastics.I’ve recently acquired nerve damage from breathing fumes from melting plastics,that i have to live with the rest of my life,and i sure don’t want to be eating it in my food .i get an immediate reaction to anything petroleum based, on my skin ,which is in lotions to food.i have to read labels on everything be careful out there people.
Wow, a three week study done on 5 guys. That’s definitive proof!
David, you are talking to people who are blind, deaf and dumb. This is a religion. No amount of research (which none of these idiots can understand) is going to make a difference.
Though I will say that they are right about cutting back on processed food.
Food Babe,
Thank you for all your great work on these very pert topics. As a celiac, I must be extra careful with what I eat. Fortunately I live in an area where there are several options for healthful eating. When I travel that is a different story.
Recently I was served a soup and salad combo from Panera, being assured it was gluten free.
Hours after eating most of it, I had itchy eyes, my skin crawled and my stomach began to hurt.
All these foods that should have forthright ‘honest’ ingredients in them, but instead are chock full of franken stuffs (preservatives and chemicals) should not be marketed as wholesome. By any of them, for any reason.
Keep up the good work. I recently found you while researching Chipotle and will visit again soon, I’m sure.
Best,
Jen
I loved Panera bread, until now…Thank you for taking your time for education about our food!
As a foodie and a chemist, I feel I should let you know that propylene glycol is not used in your car. That is ethylene glycol and is very highly toxic, yet sweet. It will kill your animals as well. Propylene glycol is in food and toothpaste thus obviously it’s not toxic. I don’t eat GMOs and this stuff is full of it them but other than that its pretty much industrial processed foods with the vast majority of things your reading about (the stuff you don’t know what it is but I do) is all corn based additives. Bottom line: don’t eat processed foods. I don’t.
Actually, propylene glycol IS used in antifreeze:
http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-product/other-products/antifreeze/propylene-glycol-antifreeze-and-engine-coolant/
So is salt and vinegar and we gobble them all up.
Yes we do gobble them up, but are they made my chemist in a lab? Salt is derived from different parts of the Earth while vinegar is made only from things that grow in Earth. NO chemist were needed to make it!!!
sounds like a great use of that product (keeping in mind, it was first used for food) so that if antifreeze leaks from your car, the animals that drink it won’t die.
I appreciate all of the effort you put into keeping all of us informed. Is it just me or does it seem like Monsanto’s spies are everywhere?
I felt the same thing. Fake-scientist on message boards everywhere pushing the fake-food that Monsanto creates. Gosh they really must have A LOT of money. GMOs are horrendous.
But on the flip side…they are worried about you and your website due to the number of people you are reaching 🙂
I am an ecologist and I am not employed by Monsato. In fact, many scientists are employed by universities and are paid a constant salary, regardless of our research interests. I find many of the statements made on this blog appalling not because of the content, but because of the lack of citations. If the author does not provide support for her arguments, then why should we believe anything she says?
Rita Michelle….common sense?
Exactly Rachel – common sense!
lol @ Marc Hutton. “Propylene glycol is in food and toothpaste thus obviously it’s not toxic”
Really?
let me lol again, and again, and again
I think you can refute someone’s claim without being rude.
Here’s a great video from NutritionFacts.org that explains nitrites in cured meat compare to the nitrates in healthy vegetables.
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-bacon-good-or-is-spinach-bad/
No, bacon and other cured meats aren’t good for you. It has to do with how your body processes those elements.
Dave – Thanks for the additional information – can I ask where you saw my article link from?
Sure, Clean Eating’s Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/cleaneating
The NutritionFacts.org site is an amazing resource. If people have never been there they should at least watch this video:
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/uprooting-the-leading-causes-of-death/
Hilarious and great info.
This is how I found your site, also. And glad that I have.
Just finished watching this video. It was very funny, but extremely good information. I eat very little meat, but this video makes me want to give it up entirely.
I don’t need chemistry or a science background to know eating there is bad. The last time I ate there, I had a half steak and cheese panini and cup of tomato soup. Within an hour I was in a total food coma and slept for almost three hours(I’m not a napper). That was about 18 months ago, and I have not eaten there since.
I have yet to find any fast food or even a restaurant in my area (near Dallas, TX) that I believe it truly healthy and warrents me spending my money at 🙁
Brittany – Have you looked at Start Restaurant? It is in Dallas ( on Greenville Ave – south of Lovers Lane — not sure where you are when you say “near”). They serve grass-fed burgers, etc. We eat according to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, so there isn’t much on their menu we can eat, but at least they offer one thing we can eat (minus the bun and dijonnaise).
For as much as you hate on Panera, I hope you never eat anything in a grocery store except for organic fruits and vegetables. Panera is way more natural and in some cases more organic than the things youll find in your average grocery store. You realize how many names there are for MSG? Citric acid, anything hydrogenated, I’m sure you’re eating it on a regular basis. McDonalds has over a hundred ingredients in their hamburgers and many other things. About ten of them are MSG under the guise of another innocent name like pectin. I could go on and on, but the bottom line is I wouldn’t focus on Panera for being such a horrible choice in restaurant. It’s healthier than most of the restaurants that exist not just the fast food ones.
I have been reading Food Babe’s blog for a while and I’m pretty sure she does not eat ANY processed food (and if she does, it is organic). Am I right, Food Babe?
Organic and processed certainly don’t go hand in hand. My comment was to address that Panera was better than other fast food restaurants. It obviously has nothing to do with if Food Babe eats processed food or not because if she doesn’t eat it, she shouldn’t comment on if one fast food restaurant is better or worse than another.
I see this from a different perspective, Danielle. I can’t imagine why anyone, even consumers who aren’t dietary “purists”, are willingly ingesting additives that are quite literally poison, except that marketing has done its job well: in what other situation would the public so enthusiastically PAY a perpetrator to assault them–and then defend the perpetrator’s honor? Consumers are cheerfully paying a premium for massive, systematic health sabotage.
Big food spends billions to seduce with image…talented advertisers can turn ANY product, from a snack food to toxic waste to Hitler into something consumers WANT. Think not? You’d be surprised. Studies bear it out.
Vani is offering a peek behind the clever ads and image, allowing us to make better-informed choices. I believe that if we don’t demand better standards, we won’t receive better…the FDA isn’t protecting us. If you still choose to frequent Panera and other fast food establishments, then do so. I’m grateful that Vani shares her passion with us. We can choose how (or whether) to act on the information.
I rarely go to Panera, but occasionally if I don’t bring my lunch to work, Panera is the lesser of the evils near my office (BK, McD, Chik Fil-A, etc). When I saw them replenishing their soup from a plastic bag, I knew that I had been fooled into thinking they were making healthy food right there at the restaurant!
I did, however, find a great little spot, Olivia’s Good News Cafe, a little farther away. It’s relatively fast, though not “drive-through” fast. I’ll share the link because I think every town should have a place like this! http://www.oliviasgoodnewscafe.com. They serve only organic and all-natural, pesticide and preservative free foods. Furthermore, the fare is innovative and delicious.
I am not affiliated with them in any way, I promise!
I understand if you don’t want to eat at there, but I will tell you, I work at Olive Garden and we make our soups fresh everyday. We store them in plastic bags so they can be quick chilled and reheated (in boiling water) with more convience…
ANYTHING poured into plastic while hot will take on the chemicals of the plastic. Bad news! Plus, Olive Garden doesn’t even use fresh meat in their Pasta E Fagioli, as I once found square chuncks of beef in it, and I know from being a cook myself that square meat can only come from pre-formed patties cut up! Ground meat doesn’t take on that shape when browned & added to a soup!
Did Olivia’s move, or close?
Since I’ve been eating at Panera Bread on a consistent basis I have been having flutters (like a vibrator going inside me). I think it’s from MSG, and I understand it is in their brocoli soup under a different name. They shouldn’t be allowed to use momosodium glutamate in anything. It can kill you!
Then why does the label read, if swallowed contact poison control
I was wondering if you have seen the new protein salads at Panera? If so, what do you think. It seems that they are making an effort to clean up their act a bit!?
Had to look up the ingredients for french onion soup there since my family enjoys going there and I always get it and I have to say I gagged while reading it… MSG and Margarine :gags some more:
thank you for bringing this to my attention but gah am I disheartened…
Ingredient List
All Natural Bistro Onion topped with croutons & gruyere
All natural bistro onion soup (onions, chicken stock [chicken broth, natural chicken flavor {chicken fat, natural flavoring}, beef stock concentrate [salt, natural flavors, sugar, yeast extract]), water, gastrique [natural flavor, evaporated cane juice, sherry wine vinegar, caramelized sugar], tomatoes [tomatoes, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, natural flavorings, naturally derived citric acid], sea salt, butter [cream {milk}, salt], soy sauce [water, wheat, soybeans, salt], cornstarch, natural flavor, soybean oil, yeast extract, xanthan gum, guar gum, spices), Asiago Croutons (unbleached enriched wheat flour [flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], water, asiago crouton mix [margarine {soybean oil, water, mono- and diglycerides, salt, whey, soy lecithin, sodium benzoate, natural and artificial flavor, vitamin A palmitate, beta carotene (color)}, asiago cheese {pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes}, dehydrated garlic and onion, spices and salt], enriched durum wheat flour [durum flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], Asiago cheese [pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, microbial & animal enzymes], enriched semolina wheat flour [semolina, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], Parmesan cheese [pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, microbial enzymes], salt, Romano cheese [pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes], yeast, dough conditioners [ascorbic acid, microcrystalline cellulose, corn starch]), Gruyere cheese blend (pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, salt, microbial enzymes, potato starch and powdered cellulose [to prevent caking], natamycin [a natural mold inhibitor]).
No bread is ALL whole wheat, because whole wheat flour is way too dense and heavy to be anywhere near palatable in a baked product. All bread sold as “whole wheat” is required by law to be at least 51% whole wheat, which is reasonable and realistic. The highest percentage of whole wheat flour I have ever seen used in bread was in a Cook’s Illustrated recipe for whole wheat bread, and their use of 60% whole wheat flour involved a long process of overnight soaking, and several steps not needed in plain flour bread. Let’s not be hysterical and hyperbolic when describing very basic food ingredients, okay? It does nothing to help your cause. Acting appalled that a company would put -GASP- white flour in their bread makes you look elitist and disconnected from the average food shopper, and even the average shopper who is trying to eat more healthily.
I saw nothing offensive in the ingredient list for Panera’s whole wheat bread. They even used some organics, and didn’t use (cheaper) bleached flour. I suppose someone will accuse me of being a Panera employee now, but I assure you what I am is someone who is trying to eat healthy food, AND being realistic about how to go about it.
*However I will say, holy crap, everyone should be making their own soup rather than buying it from almost any restaurant, or in a can. 😉
I disagree! There are some (not a lot, but it’s not unheard of) 100% whole wheat breads out there, and I’ve baked my own as well. Yes, using all whole wheat flour is more dense than white flour, with the exception of using sprouted whole wheat flour or a blend of whole grain flours. Also, you know the difference between a whole flour and an enriched flour, right?
I disagree also. We buy our bread from a local Great Harvest Bakery and the wheat is ground every morning and the Honey Wheat has only wheat, honey, yeast and salt. It is delicious and not heavy.
I also disagree. I grind my own organic, hard wheat and spring wheat to make make goods all the time. Bread, pancakes, pizza dough, cookies, muffins, etc…..
I use 100% whole wheat pastry flour from Bob’s Red Mill. I have used it sucssessfully in recipes that call for white all purpose flour. White Whole Wheat is far less dense than regular whole wheat. In genral I have found that the whole wheat flours of today are a lot less dense than the wholw wheat flours you could purchase in the 1970’s. Yes I am that old.
Yeah I make everything with organic whole wheat flour, with great results. How is it not palatable??
I ate a salad at Panera with cranberries and fruit. Afterwards I bloated up like I was 4-5 months pregnant. It was uncomfortable and embarrassing. I told my Mom and she joked that at least I don’t have to put it through collage. I won’t be eating their food again!
Oh wow – that’s horrible. I also feel bad when I eat out at places with so many additives.
03 Feb, 2013
Yesterday I was gifted with a loaf (unlabelled) of Panera bread. On attempting to find list of ingredients on Panera’s web site, all there is is nutritional info. So-o-o on phoning my local Panera store they couldn’t access their own web site, but assured me that, ” I was welcome to come in to the store and read the list of ingredients. But you can’t take it out of the store.”
Whoa !?!
No. I do not eat food that is from a ‘fast-food-chain’
Perhaps my neighbor doesn’t either?
Vani, I’ve recently liked your page on facebook and I don’t miss anything you post, you’re amazing for taking time out of your schedule to keep us all informed. I’ve become more serious about what I eat since I had my 2 little kids. I am very grateful you put all this info out for us. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Have you taken a look at the ‘hidden menu’ items? I’m afraid to look – I was excited when Panera added these low-carb options, but now I’m concerned.
I do believe people are trying. Unless one specifically research additives, preservatives, MSGs, MGOs, etc….people are unaware. Naturally, this looks healthy. I have only recently become more aware through research. Spending my nights reading after my kids go to sleep. And, if my daughter didn’t have a genetic disability, and trying to give her the very best to help her, I am sure I’d be one of those people eating there and thinking I am so healthy.
I appreciate all of the good information you provide to help us make better choices, but sometimes it seems like EVERYTHING is bad and we are doomed. Where do you suggest that a family dine out at if even Panera is bad? Sometimes necessity dictates that we must eat out.
I have the same question. I agree that making your own food and buying organic is the best way to go, but in this world of crazy schedules, work, home life, kids, etc. sometimes you have to eat out. What are good alternatives?
I agree … sometimes I DO allow my son some “bad” food, simply because we are out and about and at 5 years old, he doesn’t have the ability to be hungry and not whiny. Simply stated, little kids warn you about 10 minutes before they are STARVED. I bring lunch for us most of the time, but sometimes it just isn’t practical, and I also like taking him out so he learns proper manners (asking for what he would like, saying please and thank you, etc.) So where DO we go? I can’t go to most coffee houses and cafes because they don’t know what is in their food or they cannot ensure that foods do not contain peanuts or tree nuts. I trust big box restaurants to at least do the nut allergy thing right, because the corporations fear lawsuits and do that part pretty well. Also, if you want to see ingredients to any product, claim you have an allergy – all of these restaurants have an ingredient book that contains all the ingredients to every product they serve (even sauce packets) and they are all trained to offer it up when someone says allergy – then they can say YOU chose the product, no one told you it was free of anything 🙂
Thanks for sharing! I rarely step into Panera Bread but I did the other day and bought the Greek salad (even skipped out on the cheese) thinking it was the closest thing to real food I could get. I mean it’s just chicken on top of some greens right? Clearly wrong! 🙂
I heard it closed .So sad– it was really good.
The fast food that we use is what we cook in our crock pot. It is too difficult to find healthy, vegan, non-gmo food in the food industry.
Thank you for all the information that you have on your website.
Hello Food Babe,
I have just discovered your website and I love it!
I moved to the US from Italy 6 months ago, and since then I’ve had a surprise after another with anything that regards food. In my country I have always taken for granted that food is fresh, healthy, tasty, unprocessed (or else they must write it very clearly on the tags) and so on.
But since after I moved here I started to realize that something was wrong. I was feeling sick after my meals 90% of the times (I had never been the delicate stomach type before), one single glass of wine would give me headache, etc. That’s how I started to became very conscious about preservatives, GMO, sulfites… For a while it’s been overwhelming. Epsecially after I got pregnant and I feel the responsibility not to poison myself and my baby with all those awful things hidden in American food (no offense).
One thing that I’ve been wondering about, and that maybe you can explain is: why Italian brands who sell their products here do in fact modify their original recipes and replace their ingredients with others of less quality? I went through tags of many brands: Buitoni, Barilla, Giovanni Rana, Ferrero… an endless list. They all replaced good ingredients with sh***y stuff. Unless the product is imported (you’ll know because the tags are still all in Italian), that’s it. The only brand so far that I’ve found compliant to its original standard is DeCecco. Why do they do that? I’ve even written to both Giovanni Rana.it and .com, and guess what, no answer.
Thanks again for your useful tips!
Thanks for posting this, Foodbabe, and keeping us informed!
For those who aren’t in the same boat(time/madviceoney/etc.) -wise as food babe, I hope to offer a little advice….do what you can with what you have. I’m what most would consider “low-income”, and I’m a single mom that homeschools and attends college full-time. When I first started reading Foodbabe, I thought “there is NO WAY I could ever get my family THAT healthy!” But, I knew I had to start somewhere. No, we may not always be 100% real foods 100% of the time, but that’s not the point of this site. This site is meant to INFORM you of what’s in your food. If you want further research or aren’t sure of her claims, then do what she did and RESEACH it. Googling some of the ingredients takes less than a minute, reading the articles, 5-10 maybe(?). I’ve done a lot of research by watching food documentaries whenever I have time, even if that means I don’t get to watch my favorite show on TV,etc.
In regards to food choices, the best option is to avoid fast food places to the best of your ability. Meal plan in advance, find meals you can make in large batches and freeze. Make them on your day(s) off, it’s a small price to pay for your long-term health. That way, when you’re pinched for time, all you have to do is take it out and reheat. My fiance drives a truck for a living, and he was very guilty of eating fast food at least one meal a day for the five to seven days he is on the road. I started talking to him abou better food choices, and he caved and bought a electric toaster-oven type thing for his truck to reheat better options while on the road. I’m planning on buying him a potable crock pot for his birthday. We don’t eat everything organic and local, but we do try to make as many things as possible one or the other.
The point I’m trying to make is…start with where you can with what you have. As time and money allow, build up on your what you have. Take baby steps. Take time to be informed, food companies will fool the pants off of you if you don’t. When it comes to food, we can’t make the same assumptions our grandparents or great-grandparents did. Do what you can with what you have. It’s your money, do you want to spend it on a frankenexperiment with unsure results or on food you can KNOW where it came from? Your choice.
I agree! I am a single mom and fairly low income myself … I do what I can. I can’t afford to buy all organic, but I can afford to not buy crap in boxes! I can’t afford to buy the best meats, but I can afford to choose meatless options for all but two days of the week. These things are simple and cost nothing. It is also much cheaper to make your own food and bring it with you. Most “kid friendly” places have somewhere to sit and eat – even here in Minnesota, we find places to have an indoor picnic in the middle of the winter. It isn’t about being perfect or refuting anyone else’s ideas … it’s about doing the research, deciding what is right for your family, and doing it. I know Vani doesn’t use her microwave, but I still do. I don’t worry about it. No one ever said you have to follow any online blogger as though they are your personal fitness prophet … just do what you can!
great comment, Jenn! I agree completely
I live a mid-sized city with a lot of food selection, but am not sure there are any that serve real food. I have heard that Chipotle is fresh and organic. Do you agree? Are there any chain restaurants or specific items at other restaurants that do have your seal of approval?
PS – I shared your article with a friend who holds a regional position in marketing for Panera in the midwest…for what it’s worth. I would think that if they want to innovate, eliminating these chemicals would be a good start. That would really give him some great advertising content!
Natalie – here are 2 links for posts Vani has written on Chipoltle.
https://foodbabe.com/2012/08/14/chipotle-vs-moes-what-really-in-that-food/
https://foodbabe.com/2013/03/24/a-food-babe-investigates-win-chipotle-posts-ingredients/
oops! I mean Chipotle
Thank you for your research, but I’m so sad, this was the one place I did go to when I’m in a pinch or just plain want a break from cooking and cleaning. May I ask what is your go to eatery for ‘fast’ lunch?
I know it is so hard! I think in most areas, there are very few good choices. I do not eat out very much anymore. When I do though I just pick what I feel like is the best option and try not to feel guilty about it.
For those of you in Charlotte area, here is a list of Vani’s favorite restaurants
https://foodbabe.com/charlotterestaurants/
Although I agree with your entire article, it is important to note that the use of sodium nitrate is something you will encounter even in the freshest of fresh markets as a way to prevent botulism in processed meats such as bacon, ham and various dry-cured meat products.
I raise, slaughter and butcher my own pork. It is not possible to use the entirety of the animal with out using some forms of curing and or aging. The amount found in most natural food stores processed meats is less harmful than a day basking in the sun at the beach. And for me a tiny necessary evil to ensure that I can provide my family with well raised and sustainably produced food.
If I know I’m going to be away from home during a meal or mini meal time, I take 10 minutes (sometimes less) grab some food, put it in my pyrex dish, grab my handy dandy cooler and an ice pack. Put it all together and I’m prepared! No more feeling like I have no choice but to stop at some craptastic fast food joint. If I’m intentionally going to be eating out, I try VERY hard to eat at locally owned restuarants, delis, bakeries, etc. Odds are there are still going to be some ingredients that I’m not super happy about but most likely those foods aren’t mixed together with a chemical cocktail and called “food.”
Thank you for sharing this information!
For anyone in Northern California (Sacramento/Roseville area), there is a new “fast casual” restaurant that’s delivering ultra-clean, healthy, whole ingredients. We make all of our spreads/dressings by hand with whole ingredients, no GMO’s, almost entirely gluten-free, as organic as possible, and more.
We’re called Baagan (www.baagan.com) and are working on opening our 2nd location.
If anyone would like to check us out or even look into investing, please see our web site.
Our goal is to get fast healthy food available everywhere for all of us, all the time!
I understand your concern about Panera Bread food, but as an employee, it is an excellent place to work and donates money to Feed America. It also provides great jobs. Now that 1/3 of all people in the world are obese, I think to say if a person had to choose between getting fast food from McDonalds or Panera we would all say choose Panera Bread. I think you are pointing out facts here that are not important. What about the fact there is arsenic in food we buy at the grocery store? We do not live in a perfect healthy world and as MPH student I want to change that but to make the comments you make about Panera bread is ridiculous.
Thank you for this post. 1) THAT particular Panera was in horrendous shape when we visited it last fall and we sent a scathing review to Panera. 2) I am very critical of Panera’s meals, particularly since the meals do not reveal what is in each meal. The Thai salad should be starred with many allergen warnings. It has peanuts, soy etc. in it. I had to pick everything but the greens out, and even then the salad was contaminated. 3) Panera’s staff and cooks do not practice prevention against cross-contamination. 4) You never know what you aren’t going to get — they routinely omit ingredients in their meals or use next to none of an ingredient if they are low or out. They could inform people. One locally routinely omits the avocado in the meals unless you request it, because “people around here don’t eat it.” Huh? I know they are a baking shop, but you shouldn’t feel like you have to order it. The drinks they provide, etc., yeah, not good choices. Their smoothies that are touted as low calorie mislead people into thinking they are healthy. I checked one smoothie a couple of months ago, and it had over 80 carbs!!! No one who is Diabetic should drink that.
Thanks for the article. I made my first Panera visit today in Concord, CA. There’s a sign in the window that touts that the ingredients are “nutrient dense.” Well, that’s laughable. I went inside to learn if there’s actually anything whole and organic going on. For instance, do they use whole, organic milk? Nope. The manager even came out and addressed that one. Yes, I ended being a pest, though I really did want a latte, just not with garbage milk. What was I thinking?
My husband and I own a small, neighborhood farm-to-bakery/cafe in Albany, NY (All Good Bakers). It’s extremely irritating (and unfair competition) that Panera puts forth this new slogan “Live Consciously, Eat Deliciously”, trying to make it look like they are the salt of the earth when it comes to clean-food-sourcing. They have been guilty of this greenwashing before, they’ve just launched it on a bigger scale now. Very frustrating!! The majority of their food is full of junk (I’ve done my research on their nutrition page) yet a lot of people perceive it as “healthy”, even some of our own customers. We source 90% of our ingredients from trusted local sources of whom we can ask pertinent questions about their production methods, sourcing and philosophy. While not all of our ingredients are organic (which isn’t ALWAYS better – there are a lot of toxic sprays still being used) and none of our farmers/producers are certified, they all have long commitments to producing Clean Food – no pesticides (farmers use fish emulsion & kelp), no gmos, selective and very thoughtful crop rotation, etc. I’ve heard it called “beyond organic” (or, ya know, growing things like our grandparents did). We serve nothing w/ hormones, dyes, preservatives, gmos, etc. make sure our dairy farmer uses antibiotics judiciously, we ask pertinent questions and learn more than we ever thought possible about how our food is produced, we visit the farms and help bring their stories to the public so there is complete transparency and our customers can see that we truthfully MEAN what we say with regard to what we are serving them. Doing this on a grand scale would require a much grander effort than Panera is, in reality, putting forth. Yet they blatantly flout the work of bakers, like my husband and me, who are actually dedicated to the triple bottom line (people, planet, profit), and dedicate an enormous amount of time/energy & money to live up to our beliefs and ideals. Yes, Panera is taking steps, but there is so much they are leaving out with this fraudulently broad new campaign, and unless someone digs for the real information like you did, Food Babe, consumers remain fooled.
Charlotte is my hometown, btw. I am very very glad to see that the clean food movement has reached the South and applaud you for the guts it must take to discuss this topic in an area where food culture is so deeply entrenched. Our industrialized food system has removed our connection to what gives us life. I remember picking peppers, zucchini, tomatoes and more with my paw paw in his garden. It admittedly took a while for me to open my eyes to what I was eating as an adult. We are major clean-whole-local-food advocates now. I’m trying to get my parents, sister and her family (who live in Waxhaw & Matthews) on the train. I’ll send my sis a link to this article 🙂
You might enjoy a blog post I wrote for a Saratoga-based/National good-food blog, From Scratch Club (www.fromscratchclub.com) about my personal transition into eating healthy, clean, local, whole foods after moving to Upstate NY from Charlotte with my husband. http://fromscratchclub.com/2012/05/10/for-the-love-of-good-food/
I think the most important thing to realize with the Panera thing, is that they try and pass themselves off as a restaurant the makes everything so fresh. However, it’s all a big cover to the frozen soups in bags and other mass produced items shipped in. They may make a little bread at each location every day, but no way they are making everything on site.
So IS there such a thing a ‘healthy* fast food restaurant??? Especially when it’s a chain? I have my doubts.
I ate at Panera Bread once. My daughter and I were splitting a chicken sandwich, and at the horrific moment of realizing the chicken was RAW, not slightly under cooked…Pink, raw! I grabbed it out of her mouth and tossed it down, yelling spit it out!!
I went up to the manager and he apologized and wanted to make me another. I got my money and ran.
Remember this happening at White Castle years and years ago when I was a preschool aged kid … mom handed out the burgers to realize they were still partially frozen … my brother and I were happily chewing our first bites … Funny now, but still ewwwww. Not that White Castle isn’t gross when it is fully cooked, but frozen?
Your hard work uncovering all these scary details is SOOOOOOOO Appreciated!
Thank you for all you do.
Its so helpful being able to share your posts with my friends/family to show them exactly why I am such a FOOD SNOB.
It’s not economically realistic to have fresh, unadulterated food available in a chain restaurant like Panera. Anyone expecting food that is both fast and inexpensive while having no preservatives or additives is expecting too much. If you really want control over what’s in your food your only option is to make it yourself. Or do what I do… eat at Panera and not worry about it.
OMG….all this info really scares. I am scarred to eat out. But when I am out, where and what should I eat? Do you have any recommendations? Is there any way to know what’s safe to eat?….,,I think eating out is like eating all the nasty chemicals that are not listed or are disguised. HELP!!!
Here are a couple of links that might help.
https://foodbabe.com/2012/09/02/how-to-avoid-genetically-modified-ingredients-when-you-eat-out/
https://foodbabe.com/charlotterestaurants/
What about items on the Hidden Menu? I recently got the Meditteranean (however that is spelled) Chicken Salad,, I did not use any dressing on it only squeezed lemon juice. It was mainly spinach and chicken. It did have some bacon in it and some chopped eggs.
I just heard a Panera commercial and find it interesting that one of their tag lines is “Eat Consciously.” Maybe they could consciously make some changes to the ingredients that they offer to us in their foods.
Food Babe, Thanks for all you are doing to make us frightfully aware of the dangerous additives in our foods. It’s so hard to live a healthy lifestyle and to provide excellent and healthy meals for ourselves and our families. Eating out is always a challenge. More often than not I have intestinal discomfort of some degree from eating out. Not fun so I don’t do it often. No place is truly safe. …I think someone needs to start a truly healthy alternative to eating out. It would be a huge success.
I completely hear and agree that except for a rare locally owned restaurant, there are no good choices out there. I personally don’t do fast food for my family more than once a month if that. On the other hand, each person is at their own point in the journey and while one person wouldn’t go anywhere near Panera, by eating at places like that another is making drastic inroads towards a more healthy diet. I don’t think Panera is great, but it is a ton better than most fast food.
I do want to clarify one thing. ALL bakery at Panera Restaurants is made fresh nightly. At the end of the day anything they haven’t sold is donated to local food pantries, churches, etc. Each store has a huge walk in oven where they bake a ton of product every night.
If you HAD to eat at Panera, what would you have? That’s usually my favorite part of these posts. Your Subway video shows you eating a salad from there, so surely there’s something at Panera you’d eat?
I think what you posted was actually very logical.
However, what about this? what if you were to create a awesome post
title? I mean, I don’t wish to tell you how to run your blog, but suppose you added a post title that grabbed a person’s attention?
I mean Panera Bread – The Healthiest Fast Food?!? | Food Babe is kinda boring.
You ought to look at Yahoo’s home page and see how they create news titles to grab people to open the links. You might add a related video or a related pic or two to grab readers interested about everything’ve
written. Just my opinion, it might make your posts a little bit more interesting.
Hi Food Babe! Just wondering if you could re-connect with this post and include foods you would eat at Panera? Love your site!