Subway Removing Bread Chemical After Petition

Score one for the Food Babe. After the food blogger—real name Vani Hari—launched an online petition calling on Subway to remove a chemical called Azodiacarbonamide from its bread, the chain has announced that it is doing just that, reports USA Today. Azodiacarbonamide, used to make dough more elastic, is legal in the US but is banned in Europe and Australia, reports ABC News. The World Health Organization links it to respiratory ailments and asthma.

"We are already in the process of removing Azodiacarbonamide as part of our bread improvement efforts despite the fact that it is a USDA and FDA approved ingredient," says a company statement. "The complete conversion to have this product out of the bread will be done soon." Hari commends the decision but recommends that people steer clear until the process is complete. She launched the petition after Michelle Obama praised the company for its kids' menu. (More Subway stories.)