Panera Bread has added its name to the list of companies eliminating artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners, artificial preservatives, and colors from artificial sources—this time not for its restaurant business, but for its retail line of Panera at Home products.
Panera is aiming for its entire portfolio of nearly 50 grocery items to be free of additives named on it’s ‘No No List’ by the end of 2016. Earlier this year, Panera began work to remove additives from its bakery-cafes as well, committing to offering “clean” food menus in all 2,000 U.S. locations by the same deadline.
“Much of the work that we’ve done to simplify recipes in our bakery-cafes has set a standard for Panera at Home products. However, the challenges in the consumer packaged goods space are unique, where artificial additives have long been used to preserve taste and appearance,” explained Sara Burnett, Director of Wellness and Food Policy. “For us, the answer was often simple. For instance, we decided early on to use refrigeration to help extend shelf life for products like our soups and salad dressings. Where necessary, we’ve relied on natural preservatives–such as rosemary extract–to do the job.”
The Panera at Home portfolio includes the following types of products, totalling to nearly 50 unique items:
“We’ve spent years building trust with our guests through transparency and investments in the quality of the food we serve,” said Ron Shaich, Panera’s Founder and CEO. “Panera at Home is an extension of that work–another way we are offering food as it should be beyond the walls of our bakery-cafes.”
For more information on Panera at Home products and the comapny’s commitment to eliminating artificial additives, visit www.paneraathome.com.
