UF Subway and Chick-fil-A locations will reflect their national companies’ moves toward healthier and more organic ingredients.
UF’s on-campus restaurants plan to implement the changes, wrote Aramark marketing manager Jill Rodriguez in an email.
“Gator Dining follows national brand standards at our retail locations,” she wrote. “Many students and faculty/staff are conscious of eating healthy and it is our responsibility to have these options available on campus for those who are looking for more healthy choices.”
According to a Subway news release, the sub chain is removing azodicarbonamide, a chemical that adds elasticity to bread. The change began in 2013 and should be complete in the coming weeks, according to the release.
Rebecca West, a Chick-fil-A customer care representative, said the restaurant is removing azodicarbonamide as well. The company is also working toward using chickens that haven’t been treated with antibiotics.
“We’re trying to provide our customers with the freshest and highest quality menu options,” she said.
West said freshness is key to Chick-fil-A.
“We try to make sure that all of our ingredients are fresh and made to order,” she said.
Vanessa Garcia, a 20-year-old UF nutritional science sophomore, said antibiotics degrade the quality of food.
“I think it’s really important to watch what we eat, not only for the sake of keeping a healthy weight for students and faculty but also because what we put in our bodies affect our daily lives and how we do in school,” she said.
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 3/17/2014 under the headline "Campus restaurants follow lead of removing chemicals from food"]
