Hollis Johnson
The pizza chain announced on Tuesday that it had removed artificial flavors and synthetic colors from its food items, including pizza ingredients and toppings, desserts, and sauce selections. According to Papa John's, the effort cost the company $100 million in the past year.
"We closed out 2015 announcing our commitment to serve chicken raised without antibiotics and are ringing in the New Year artificial-flavor and synthetic-color free," Sean Muldoon, Papa John's senior vice president of research and development, said in a statement. "We're so proud to be able to show our customers how much we care about what they're eating."
The company has pledged to cut antibiotics in chicken toppings and poppers by this summer.
Many chains in the past year have announced commitments to cutting antibiotics, additives, and artificial flavors from their menus. Last week, Panera Bread announced it had cut artificial additives from its soups as part of plans to cut all artificial preservatives, sweeteners, colors, and flavors from its menu by the end of 2016. Other chains that have made similar commitments include Subway, Taco Bell, and Noodles and Co.
In May, Pizza Hut announced plans to remove artificial colors and flavors from pizzas (though not from the entire menu).