Subway To Remove Yoga Mat Chemical From Their Fresh-Baked Bread

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Walking past one of New York City's 372 Subway franchises, it's impossible not to get a whiff of The Smell. The Smell is like hugging long lost Uncle Juno, who always seemed to wear the delicious scent of almond croissants with his tweed jacket—hey is there something funny about old Uncle Juno? Did he always have a cock eye? Why is he speaking in a monotone? The Smell triggers a pavlovian yearning for yeast but also a deep suspicion of the artificial, the impostor. The Smell also contains a chemical used in yoga mats—but not for long!

Azodicarbonamide is not a bangin' new Red Hot Chili Peppers song, it is an ingredient used in shoes and other objects we don't traditionally chew and swallow, and it's also found in Subway's bread. The FDA has deemed the substance safe for America's billy goat guts, but it's banned in the UK, Europe, and Australia. More than 67,000 people have signed a petition asking Subway to remove the ingredient from it's American bread.

Take it away, Food Babe:

A Subway rep confirmed through a passive-aggressive Facebook post that the company is changing course: "As a part of our bread improvement efforts, we are already in the process of removing azodicarbonamide. The ingredient is approved by the USDA and FDA, but we understand your concern and appreciate your continued business."

Why add the chemical, anyway?

Dough conditioners allow companies to pass off chemically processed cheap food as “freshly baked” because it recreates perfect, evenly packed air pockets within the dough, improving the texture after coming out of large industrial machines from processing. If a company uses azodicarbonamide as a flour bleaching agent it speeds up the processing, making bread larger and whiter than normal.

Thanks for ruining the bread at Subway, Food Babe. Fans of azodicarbonamide can still find it at Arby's, Wendy's, McDonald's, and Starbucks.