Subway: ‘Yoga Mat Chemical’ Almost Out Of Bread

English: Chemical structure of azodicarbonamide (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NEW YORK — Subway says an ingredient dubbed the “yoga mat chemical” will be entirely phased out of its bread by next week.

The disclosure comes as Subway has suffered from an onslaught of bad publicity since a food blogger petitioned the chain to remove the ingredient.

The ingredient, azodicarbonamide, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in food as a bleaching agent and dough conditioner. It can be found in a wide variety of products, including those served at McDonald’s, Burger King and Starbucks and breads sold in supermarkets. But its long, unfamiliar name has an unappetizing ring, and the petition became a flashpoint in part by noting that the chemical is also used to make yoga mats.

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2014/04/11/4130342/subway-yoga-mat-chemical-almost.html?sp=/99/216/#storylink=cpy

McDonald’s Fighting To Be ‘Relevant’ To Customers

English: McDonalds’ sign in Harlem. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NEW YORK (AP) – McDonald’s is losing customers, as the world’s biggest hamburger chain struggles to attract diners with its higher-priced sandwiches and new offerings like Mighty Wings.

“We’ve lost some of our customer relevance,” CEO Don Thompson conceded Thursday on a call with analysts.

The Oak Brook, Ill.-based company reported disappointing sales for its fourth quarter, as fewer customers visited its established restaurants. Guest counts at those locations fell nearly 2 percent globally and 1.6 percent in the U.S. in 2013, according to a regulatory filing. And McDonald’s expects some challenges to persist this year.

To win back traffic, Thompson said the chain will focus on speedier service, better value offerings and raising “awareness around McDonald’s as a kitchen and a restaurant” that prepares high-quality food. It’s expanding prep tables and plans to beef up staff during peak hours for better execution. It is also bringing in a new U.S. marketing chief, Deborah Wahl, formerly with homebuilder PulteGroup and automakers Chrysler and Ford.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20140123_ap_bf88b84942524b098876eaadaaceb5c9.html#O7wv3H47Mq1BqTbV.99

McDonald’s Squeezing Out Heinz Ketchup

English: A bottle of Heinz ketchup (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

McDonald’s is moving to clear Heinz ketchup out of its system.

The restaurateur this week confirmed that it has started the process of moving to other vendors, following the appointment of former Burger King Worldwide CEO Bernardo Hees to run Pittsburgh-based H.J. Heinz Co. Mr. Hees also serves as vice chairman of the board of Miami-based Burger King.

“As a result of recent management changes at Heinz, we have decided to transition our business to other suppliers over time,” according to a statement from Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald’s.

The decision appears to put an end to a years-long push by Heinz officials to regain ground with the restaurant giant that operates more than 34,000 locations around the globe, although most American customers buying Big Macs aren’t getting Heinz ketchup with their fries anyway.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/business/2013/10/25/McDonald-s-squeezing-out-Heinz-ketchup-Golden-Arches-dropping-Heinz/stories/201310250056

Burger King To Unveil A New Restaurant In King Of Prussia This Fall

Location of Upper Merion Township in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

UPPER MERION — The king is getting some new digs, and it’s going to be a whopper of a castle.

Just two months shy of its 50th anniversary, the Burger King on DeKalb Pike in King of Prussia was demolished Wednesday to make way for a stone and stucco beauty featuring a drive-through and a Wired Your Way Café — amenities fitting the king’s royally updated new image.

Debuting on Aug. 13, 1963 as store number 113 under the future fast food empire’s brief ownership of partners James McLamore and David Edgerton, the intriguing fresh concept in fast casual dining that specialized in Whopper and Whaler (fish) sandwiches, French fries and milk shakes kicked off in King of Prussia the same year as The Plaza, another icon that’s gone through a radical transformation over the years.

The 568 W. DeKalb Pike store was the first Home of the Whopper — an enduring trademark that will figure prominently into the signage of the new design — to stake its claim in the area, ahead of Trooper (store number 179) and Blue Bell (363).

Read more:  http://www.timesherald.com/article/20130605/FINANCE01/130609835/burger-king-to-unveil-a-new-restaurant-in-king-of-prussia-this-fall#full_story

Discounts Back After Summer Restaurant Slump

Bigmac mcdonald’s japan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Restaurant discounts and special offers have returned after a recent sales cool-down at some of the nation’s hottest chains, a trend that threatens to squeeze industry profits at a time when food costs are set to rise.

U.S. consumers ate fewer Big Macs at McDonald’s Corp., skipped some caffeine runs to Starbucks Corp. and passed on the occasional burrito at Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. — sending a shiver through the investment community that has grown used to those chains posting strong growth in the face of the nation’s lackluster economic recovery.

McDonald’s on Wednesday vowed to focus more on value after reporting flat sales at established restaurants around the world in July — its worst showing in more than nine years.

Starbucks and Chipotle’s industry-leading same-restaurant sales growth decelerated last quarter, forcing both chains to make adjustments to reinforce their positions.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/chi-discounts-back-after-summer-restaurant-slump-20120810,0,212577.story

Burger King’s Pulled Pork Earns Four Thumbs Up (but no coleslaw)

This week I reached out for a Memphis BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich from the No. 2 burger flipper, Burger King, with 12,300 restaurants in 50 states plus 76 international markets.

Take that, McDonald’s and your McRib — now Burger King is getting porky, too.

Here’s the blueprint: tender pulled pork with hickory-smoke Memphis-style barbecue sauce, topped with sliced onions and a “sweet Southern sauce” (more about this later) on a toasted artisan bun.

Total calories: 470. Fat grams: 16. Sodium: 1,420 mg. Dietary fiber: 1 g. Carbs: 61 g. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: $3.49.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/681986_BK-s-pulled-pork-earns-four-thumbs-up–but-no-coleslaw-.html#ixzz1zap8iVhI