Chick-fil-A announces major changes in 2014, eliminating HFCS, artificial dyes and butane derivative

Friday, December 06, 2013 by: Lance Johnson
Tags: Chick-fil-A, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial dyes

(NaturalNews) The growing fast food company Chick-fil-A, boasting over 1,700 stores in 39 states, has announced major changes coming in 2014.

Moving in the right direction, Chick-fil-A is preparing to change some of the ingredients used in their fast food. High-fructose corn syrup is the first ingredient to go, as the chain plans to remove the processed sweetener from their white buns. The franchise also plans to remove all artificial dyes from their sauces and dressings.

They are also currently testing a new peanut oil that isn't made with TBHQ, which is a chemical made from butane.

Company product strategist Jodie Worrell confirmed the changes and says the company is looking to also remove trans fats.

And Chick-fil-A doesn't plan to stop there. "We've been systemically going through (the menu)," Worrell says.

VP of product development David Farmer says the company will continue making changes in the months and years ahead. "More and more these days, we've become a kind of food culture. People seem to care a lot more about what's in it, how it's made and where did it come from," he said.

The power of the internet in holding companies accountable

What has suddenly spurred Chick-fil-A to make such major changes?

One internet blogger and a storm of informed consumers.

Blogger Vani Hari, known as the Food Babe, wrote a post back in 2011 called "Chick-fil-A or Chemical-fil-A?" Right from her own site at FoodBabe.com, Vani listed over 100 ingredients found in a Chick-fil-A sandwich and pointed out where the controversial additives come from. One of the additives, TBHQ - a butane derivative - angered consumers and spurred consumer feedback. The shockwave was felt all the way at the Chick-fil-A company headquarters.

That's why, in 2012, the company invited the Food Babe to their headquarters to address controversial ingredients used in their food products. This month, the Food Babe received an email from Chick-fil-A notifying her of changes coming to the company's food products in 2014.

The Food Babe writes, "After a year of follow up meetings directly with Chick-fil-A executives, Chick-fil-a has finally indicated to me that they are making several major changes I suggested."

The initial changes are detailed below:

• "Successfully removed Yellow #5 and reduced sodium in our chicken soup recipe. Our new soup recipe is rolling out chain-wide now, and will be complete by the end of December.
• "We have successfully removed HFCS and artificial colors from several of our sauces and dressings. We will move into a testing and rollout phase with these new condiments in early 2014.
• "Testing peanut oil without TBHQ in multiple markets now with the hopes to rollout chain-wide in early 2014.
• "We are still in test with the cleaner label white bun. The test is being expanded to other markets outside of Georgia for possible chain-wide rollout by end of 2014."

Sources for this article include:

http://www.foxnews.com

http://www.theblaze.com

http://foodbabe.com/

http://science.naturalnews.com

About the author:
Passionate about holistic wellness, Lance Johnson and his wife invite you to www.allnaturalfreespirit.com, where you can buy clean, chemical-free body care products.