

Care for a Banana Nut Loaf-er? Unlike Subway and McDonald’s, who vehemently deny that the breads in their China stores contain the controversial shoe chemical azodicarbonamide, Starbucks openly admits to using it. The Beijinger reports:

In a moment of corporate candor, Starbucks admitted to news agencies the Global Times and the Beijing Times that they use the chemical additive azodicarbonamide in food products sold in their China stores in an e-mail sent Monday night.

Although approved by the FDA, the use of this food additive has courted controversy after it was found the chemical could release carcinogens when baked at a high temperature. Used in springy yoga mats and bouncy shoe soles, the ambiguousness of the law concerning the use of azodicarbonamide has led to its widespread use in the USA; allegations of other US restaurants using the food additive implicate companies like McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Arby’s, Jack in the Box, and Chick-a-Fils.

If you must enjoy a pastry while having your weekly language exchange and are still worried, Starbucks wants you to know that they are a multi-national corporation that follows the rules. As detailed in this admission of azodicarbonamide use, Starbucks states that azodicarbonamide is an approved food additive for pastry production according to GB2760 China Food Additive Standard, and as such is fully compliant with local food safety regulations in China.

And we’ll give them credit for showing some honesty, something that’s in short supply throughout the food biz in China. Although seeing how most of the chemicals found in food products make azodicarbonamide look like an antioxidant, we understand other companies’ lack of transparency.

We’ll just have to remember to check the amount of spring in our Starbucks 8-grain roll before buying it.



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