Wendy's To Take 'Chemistry Textbook' Out Of Ingredient List

Fast food chains are coming under fire recently for transparency when it comes to what kinds of chemicals go into popular chain restaurant's menu items.

At the recent RBC Capital Markets Consumer and Retail Conference in Boston, Wendy's CEO Emil Brolick's recently stated that they want to "get to the point where nothing on our labels looks like it came from a chemistry book."

This may be related to the recent backlash that Wendy's, Subway, and other fast food chains received after it was found that their bread products contain a chemical found in yoga mats, which  The Daily Meal recently reported.

When The Daily Meal requested for more elaboration on this statement, a Wendy's representative denied that it was a pledge of any sort.

"We do have a long-term initiative in this area," said Bob Bertini, a representative from Wendy's. "Work is underway by our food innovation team, which we aren't ready to discuss. It's premature to elaborate on our specific plans or product ingredients that may be involved."

Brolick's comment refers to the so-called "clean label trend," which is, according to Food Business News, "the trend of simplifying ingredient lists that has challenged many food and beverage manufacturers to reduce the number of ingredients in many products."

This means that long ingredient lists with chemical names like azodicarbonamide (the yoga mat chemical), are out, and recognizable ingredients are in. 

Joanna Fantozzi is an Associate Editor with The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @JoannaFantozzi.