Panera Bread, Worse than a Big Mac?

Panera Bread, Worse than a Big Mac?

by Hemi Weingarten

Panera bread has an upscale image that automatically translates in many people’s minds to healthy food. We want to challenge that thinking by comparing a popular sandwich served at Panera with the icon of junk-food – the McDonald’s Big Mac.

Panera’s Mediterranean Veggie on Tomato Basil Sandwich, pictured above, seems like a really healthy food, but the nutrients and ingredients tell a different story. We don’t mind the 590 calories if this is your meal, but the sodium count is ridiculously high (60% of your entire day’s worth). While the protein count is nice – 22 grams, the carb load is very high, as refined flour has been used for the bread.  See the ingredient list:

XL Loaf (unbleached enriched wheat flour [flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], tomatoes, water, salt, crumb topping [sugar, enriched wheat flour {flour, malted barley flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid}, palm oil, natural flavor, honey, salt, water, mono & diglycerides, polysorbate 60], garlic [garlic, water, phosphoric acid, and sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate added as preservative], yeast [yeast, sorbitan monostearate, ascorbic acid], basil), cilantro, jalapeno hummus (garbanzo beans (garbanzo beans, water,salt), water, tahini (ground sesame seeds), cilantro, canola and extra virgin olive oil blend, jalapenos (jalapenos, water, vinegar, salt), parsley, garlic, salt, roasted bell pepper powder (roasted bell peppers, potato maltodextrin, rice flour, roasted red bell pepper concentrate, sunflower oil, ascorbic acid and tocopherol as antioxidants, natural flavor), lemon juice concentrate, spice, stabilizer (tara gum, carrageenan), citric acid, phosphoric acid, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate as preservatives, malic acid, vinegar, natural flavor, spices, oil of lime), cucumber, tomatoes, peppadew (sweet piquante peppers, water, white sugar, vinegar, salt, ascorbic acid, calcium chloride), red onion, lettuce, feta cheese (pasteurized part-skim milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes, powdered cellulose to prevent caking), salt, black pepper.

Scary long, huh?

Let’s compare to McDonald’s classic Big Mac. The burger will set you back 550 calories, slightly less than Panera’s sandwich (590). It has 25 grams of protein, a bit more than Panera’s 22 grams. It’s high in sodium – 970 mg, but this is 400mg less than Panera!

The ingredient list is scary to read as well:

100% pure USDA inspected beef, no fillers, no extenders, Prepared with grill seasoning (salt, black pepper),Enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, high fructose corn syrup and/or sugar, soybean oil and/or canola oil, contains 2% or less of the following: salt, calcium sulfate, calcium carbonate, wheat gluten, ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, dough conditioners (may contain one or more of the following: sodium stearoyl lactylate, datem, ascorbic acid, azodicarbonamide, mono- and diglycerides, ethoxylated monoglycerides, monocalcium phosphate, enzymes, guar gum, calcium peroxide), calcium propionate and/or sodium propionate (preservatives), soy lecithin, sesame seed,Milk, water, milkfat, cheese culture, sodium citrate, salt, citric acid, sorbic acid (preservative), sodium phosphate, color added, lactic acid, acetic acid, enzymes, soy lecithin (added for slice separation),Soybean oil, pickle relish [diced pickles, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, vinegar, corn syrup, salt, calcium chloride, xanthan gum, potassium sorbate (preservative), spice extractives, polysorbate 80], distilled vinegar, water, egg yolks, high fructose corn syrup, onion powder, mustard seed, salt, spices, propylene glycol alginate, sodium benzoate (preservative), mustard bran, sugar, garlic powder, vegetable protein (hydrolyzed corn, soy and wheat), caramel color, extractives of paprika, soy lecithin, turmeric (color), calcium disodium EDTA (protect flavor),lettuce,Cucumbers, water, distilled vinegar, salt, calcium chloride, alum, potassium sorbate (preservative), natural flavors (plant source), polysorbate 80, extractives of turmeric (color).

True, the Big Mac has worse ingredients such as EDTA and azodicarbonamide, but both companies use mono and diglycerides and refined flour.

Panera wins by a small margin, but it is certainly not a healthy sandwich.