Subway Customers Will Get To Really Eat Fresh

(RTTNews) - Sandwich chain Subway said Thursday that it will remove all artificial colors, flavors and preservatives from all of its sandwiches, salads, cookies and soups in North America over the next 18 month.

"We are committed to choice and quality, and we also take wellness and environmental responsibility very seriously," said Subway. "We also have a commitment to make these improvements without sacrificing taste."

Removing some ingredients will be relatively simple and others will take time, the company added.

Subway thus joins a growing list of junk food companies that plan to drop artificial ingredients from their menus. Last week, Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) subsidiaries Taco Bell and Pizza Hut made similar commitments.

Panera Bread Co. (PNRA) said earlier last month that it had banned more than 150 artificial ingredients from its food, and that it would remove all traces of the ingredients from its menu by 2016.

In late April, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) said it would serve only food that is free of genetically modified ingredients.

Fast food giant McDonald's Corp. (MCD) said in March that its restaurants in the U.S. would source antibiotics-free chicken within two years.