• by Tanya Gazdik , October 17, 2007

Au Bon Pain is switching to chicken containing no artificial ingredients and no color or chemical preservatives in its salads and sandwiches.

In conjunction with the introduction of all-natural chicken, products in each of the company's 200 bakery cafes now contain zero grams of trans fat. The elimination of artificial trans fats from 100% of Au Bon Pain's menu items marks the culmination of an effort begun more than four years ago, Au Bon Pain says.

The Boston-based company says it has established several programs over the past year to help guests make menu choices that meet their nutritional requirements. In addition to in-store nutrition kiosks, which offer customers in-depth ingredient and dietary information about each Au Bon Pain menu item, the company recently revamped its Web site with a "Smart Menu," where guests can search for foods that fit their specific dietary needs and view the nutrition information for a specific combination of food choices.

"Providing our guests with fresh, nutritious and delicious food has always been a priority at Au Bon Pain," Sue Morelli, Au Bon president/CEO, says in a statement. "Using the highest quality ingredients available is just one more way of demonstrating our commitment to offering the best tasting and healthiest food options for our guests."

The new chicken is skinless and boneless, and contains no artificial ingredients and no color or chemical preservatives. It contains 30 grams of protein and only 150 calories and 1.5 grams of fat per serving. According to the USDA, "all-natural" describes food that is "made without chemical food additives or refined ingredients."

Panera Bread made a similar move in 2005, switching all its chicken in its 700 bakery-cafés to "all-natural." In addition, the chicken at Panera comes from birds that have been raised in low-stress environments on all-natural, antibiotic-free and vegetarian diets.

Panera sources its chickens from the farms of Bell & Evans and Fieldale, both of which have rigorous standards for raising chickens on an all-natural, antibiotic-free diet in a low-stress environment. Au Bon Pain had not responded by press time to a request for specifications on the sources of its chicken.