TORONTO — A food blogger has called out Subway for its use of a chemical in its bread that’s also used in yoga mats and even shoe rubber.
Vani Hari, author of Foodbabe.com, launched a petition last week to urge the chain to eliminate azodicarbonamide, a chemical mainly used as a blowing agent in the rubber and plastics industries, but also as a bleaching agent and dough conditioner. It can be found in breads at Subway restaurants in North America, but not in Europe or Australia. As of today, the petition had more than 76,000 signatures online.
A Subway spokesperson told Global News the chain is working on eliminating the ingredient from its bread, although the timeline couldn’t be specified. “We are already in the process of removing azodicarbonamide as part of our bread improvement efforts, even though it is an approved ingredient by federal regulatory agencies. The complete conversion to have this ingredient out of the bread will be done soon,” read the statement.
Hari told CBC News she’s glad her petition inspired change. “Their swift action is a testament to what power petitions can have,” she said.
