Arby's is known for having the meats, but it's the bread that is keeping some of the fast food chain's most popular menu items out of Europe. Currently, this is more of a theoretical issue, as Arby's doesn't have any locations in the E.U.
, but if the chain ever wants to expand into Europe, it will have to remove some banned ingredients from its bread recipes. Banned foods or ingredients vary across the world. For example, in 2022 for its use of titanium oxide in the U.
S. version of its product. Mars Inc.
, owner of Skittles, uses this ingredient to create the rainbow of colors the brand is known for, but the ingredient is actually banned in the U.K. because of its possible dangers to people's long-term health.
However, in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has determined titanium oxide is okay to use in food as long as it does not exceed 1% of the food's weight. The same is true of a number of other ingredients, including a few used to make some of Arby's most popular menu items. Arby's croissants, sourdough bread, and French toast sticks all contain azodicarbonamide.
Meanwhile, the chain's brioche and slider buns contain propylparaben. Both ingredients are banned in Europe. Why does Arby's use banned ingredients? Azodicarbonamide, , is commonly used as "a whitening agent in cereal flour and as a dough conditioner in bread baking.
" During bread making, azodicarbonamide breaks down into other chemicals, but the FDA has determined that humans are not exposed to .
