US chain of bakery cafe-style restaurants Panera has risen to the challenge and taken clean label to the next level by replacing 122 different ingredients from its menu with cleaner alternatives.

It has taken quite some time but Panera claims to have finally got there. The company initially announced a plan to remove artificial additives from its menu in June 2014 and now at the start of 2017, they claim to have succeeded in ensuring 100 percent of the menu is ‘clean’ - from from artificial flavors, preservatives, sweeteners, and colors from artificial sources. 

Reformulating dishes is no easy task says Panera founder and CEO Ron Shaich, but from clean soups to clean salads and sandwiches, all artificial ingredients have been removed. 

Panera even has what it calls a ‘no-no list’ - a list of ingredients which will never be in their products. This is a full range of ingredients from aspartame and benzoic acid to saccharin and sucralose. 

“We are committed to food that is 100 percent clean in all our US bakery-cafes and grocery products. At Panera, clean describes food that does not contain artificial preservatives, sweeteners, and flavors along with colors from artificial sources,” it says. 

To achieve this clean food milestone, Panera had to review more than 450 ingredients, delve into the supply chain to ensure the removal of all artificial flavors, preservatives, sweeteners and colors from artificial sources and reformulate 122 ingredients.

This resulted in changes to the majority of Panera’s bakery-cafe recipes and the company also partnered with more than 300 food vendors on the clean food journey to innovate solutions, ranging from ingredient replacements to rethinking how foods are prepared.

The chain also worked with health experts to list all the ingredients that had to go and it is the first US national restaurant to publicly share the list of no-no ingredients. 

Panera is responding to a growing consumer shift in the US towards fresher, cleaner and simpler food, and Shaich does not think this trend will only escalate as the consumers become more aware of what they eat and make healthier choices in terms of ingredients in food. 

“Do you know what it took us to change this? We have 450 items on our menu, 122 different ingredients were plucked, pulled, taken out of the Panera menu and replaced by clean, simple, better ingredients,” says Shaich.

Deli meats, bacon and selec bakery items were some of the most difficult challenges given the ubiquity of additives in these categories, says the company. Many of the additives removed – notably FD&C colors, sodium benzoate, sodium nitrite and sodium phosphate – remain pervasive in retail and restaurant food.

“At Panera, we want to serve food we want our own families to enjoy. Offering a clean menu free from all artificial flavors, preservatives, sweeteners and colors from artificial sources is one way we can help our guests feel confident about the food they eat at Panera,” adds Shaich.

Tom Neltner, Chemical Policy Director, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), adds how Panera’s move to a 100 percent clean menu is having an impact on the industry.

“EDF congratulates Panera’s leadership, and hopes to work with more brands to ensure that food and chemical policies prioritize health and the environment for our children and future generations,” he says.

“Panera’s leadership shows that consumer health can be a priority in the corporate bottom line. If more brands followed Panera’s approach to transparency, informing consumers and developing institutional commitment, food would be healthier for all.”