As dining consumers seek more menu transparency and fewer artificial ingredients in their food, Texas-based Pizza Hut has announced plans to remove BHA/BHT from all meats by the end of July.
The nation's largest pizza chain also plans to remove artificial preservatives from cheese and antibiotics from chicken for its pizzas by the end of March, 2017, according to an article in the Dallas Morning News. This announcement comes roughly a year after Pizza Hut became the first national pizza restaurant to remove artificial colors from its pizzas.
Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) is an antioxidant used in the food industry as a preservative, mainly to prevent oils in foods from oxidizing and becoming rancid. Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) also is an antioxidant.
Pizza Hut Chief Brand Officer Jeff Fox said these changes are being made because the chain's customers say they do not want these items in their pizzas.
Pizza Hut is not alone in eliminating artificial ingredients. Chipotle gained media attention when it announced plans to cook only with non-GMO ingredients. Texas-based Frito-Lay is noting on packaging whether the product was produced with genetic engineering. Kellogg and General Mills made announcements last year regarding removing antioxidants BHA/BHT from their products.
"This push comes because consumers increasingly want restaurants to be more transparent about menu item ingredients," Lizzy Freier, managing editor at Technomic, a Chicago-based restaurant research firm said. "Also, two in five consumers cite a rising concern over food additives. Because of this growing concern, health claims that convey wholesome, pure ingredients resonate strongly with consumers."
