By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

Serving mostly burgers and fries, Johnny Rockets is a fast casual chain located in the majority of U.S. states as well as many other countries. See here for all locations.

The VRG noticed that a picture of a Gardein Black Bean Burger is on the website menu. So we contacted Johnny Rockets to find out about the veggie burger option, including the bun it was served on as well as cooking prep protocol.

We tried contacting their PR firm and sent our questions to the website contact page.

We received a response from Chris Heaton, Franchise Operations Director at Johnny Rockets. He was very willing to assist and quite prompt with his replies. This is what we discovered when we asked about their vegan menu options.

“…[W]e cook all of our products on the same flat top grill and fryolators. So beef, chicken, or turkey protein could be still present. We do not have separate equipment to cook our vegetarian options due to our current kitchen and equipment layout. If you would like me to look further into your questions with knowing that, please do let me know.”

We then asked if it were possible to get a vegan burger microwaved or request a sanitized grill surface and clean kitchen tools.

Chris replied: “Unfortunately our restaurants are not equipped with microwaves.

To ensure no previous protein is present we would need to use cleaner and during operational hours, that would potentially stop all production in the kitchen with the majority of our kitchens only having one flat top grill.

I do apologize that I didn’t have better news, but I certainly want to be sure you are safe with your food. If there is a specific location you are inquiring to visit, I certainly can connect you with the general manager to see if they have a recommendation for you.”

At this point, The VRG replied by presenting a hypothetical situation:

“So if I were in a party with non-vegans, which could happen, I could opt for veggies + avocado on a bun? Better than just sitting there with nothing. So I’d like to know if your buns are made with L-cysteine dough conditioner. And, if so, what’s the source of it?”

Chris responded to our question with a question: “Which location were you planning on attending? The reason I ask, is some locations utilize a local bakery for certain breads.”

We then stated: “We live close to the Inner Harbor (Baltimore) but sometimes travel for business. Good to know to ask when dining out.

Any guidance on what the Johnny Rockets suppliers use as the default would be helpful.”

Chris then wrote to us that he had passed on our questions to the “Chef and Supply Chain” who replied directly to our questions:

VRG: Do either the Gardein or Boca contain dairy-derived or egg-derived ingredients like sodium caseinate or albumin?

Johnny Rockets: No.

VRG: Buns: Your hoagie roll, sourdough, regular, and wheat buns have no egg, no dairy. Correct?

Johnny Rockets: The wheat bun is manufactured on a line that handles product with milk, otherwise all our buns are egg- & dairy-free.

VRG: Do any of the buns contain L-cysteine (a common dough conditioner)? If so, is your source for the L-cysteine duck feathers or human hair? These are the most common sources for L-cysteine.

Johnny Rockets: No.

VRG Recommendation for Vegans at Johnny Rockets

We got the impression from Johnny Rockets that they are sincere in their efforts to cater to vegans. The chain at least has vegan burgers on its menu by comparison with several other chains that don’t.

In our experience, when enough customers request a change for better accommodation as vegans, management listens.

So The VRG encourages you to request (politely) that a microwave be available or that a section of the grill be easily sanitized to avoid cross contact with meat products.

If you are ever in a Johnny Rockets restaurant, requested a microwaved burger or one prepped on a sanitized surface and received one, please let us know. We’d be happy to add it to this article for other future vegan diners at Johnny Rockets. The contents of this posting, our website, and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

For information on other chains, visit https://www.vrg.org/fastfoodinfo.htm

For info vegetarian/vegan restaurants, visit https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.htm

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

Plaza Azteca is a chain of family owned and operated Mexican restaurants located (at the time of this writing) in seven East Coast states: Virginia (23), Pennsylvania (9), North Carolina (3), Connecticut (2), Massachusetts (1), Maryland (1), and New Jersey (1). Their first restaurant opened in Virginia Beach, VA in the 1990s.

The VRG received an email from a reader who dined recently at the Midlothian, VA Plaza Azteca. He wrote:

“…I wanted to share that the rice used by this chain is cooked in either chicken broth or with a chicken broth bouillon. I spoke with a manager at the Plaza Azteca in Midlothian, Virginia to verify. She brought out the cooks and we asked how the rice was prepared. The biggest concern is that their menu had a ‘Vegetarian’ section and all ‘vegetarian’ dishes are served with a side of rice.

I would also like to add that I initially asked my waiter if the rice was vegetarian, he said yes, I specifically asked if it was cooked in stock and his hesitation in answering made me question his knowledge.”

The VRG wanted to determine if the rice at Plaza Azteca is prepared with animal broth so we first sent an email through their website contact form,
and then called the Midlothian, VA restaurant. First we learned from employees that there isn’t a corporate office that handles inquiries such as ours. The menu should be the same in all restaurants but may vary.

When we asked specifically about the rice, we learned that “white rice” offered with the vegan menu option is not made with animal stock. It’s “just water, garlic and salt.”

“Rice” on the menu is not vegetarian. It’s “yellow in color due to spices and is prepared in chicken stock.”

We called Plaza Azteca a second time to learn more about its “vegan burrito bowl” listed on its online menu. In September 2019 we were informed that the online menu is not current. Now they offer a vegan bowl and a vegan burrito called Burrito Vegano. The vegan bowl consists of soy meat, rice, black beans, guacamole, corn, onions, poblano peppers, mushrooms, vegan cheese, and pico de gallo sauce. The vegan burrito has the same components of the vegan bowl placed inside of a wheat tortilla. The “soy meat” is a “plant-based protein.”The “vegan cheese” is “tofu.” The white rice, black beans, guacamole, corn, onions, mushrooms, poblano peppers, and pico de gallo sauce are vegan.

The VRG asked if there are any animal flavors, fats or stock in any vegan bowl or burrito component. We were informed that there were not. They replied to our question about kitchen protocols that the soy meat “is grilled on a clean surface away from meat products.”

In another conversation, they read off the labels of the soy meat, soy cheese, and tortilla. The soy meat is PlantFare^® brand. The soy cheese is West Soy^® brand. They called the cheese “tofu” on several occasions during our call. Both appear to be all-plant soy products from what we gathered from reading off the labels while we spoke.

We asked specifically if the wheat tortilla contained L-cysteine or egg or dairy products. They read the label while we were on the phone, spelling out the names and concluded L-cysteine, dairy (whey or casein) or egg ingredients were not present.

The manager also confirmed that the soy meat and vegetables are grilled separated in vegetable oil away from all meat products.

When we asked if gelatin was in the guacamole, the reply was that they make their own and do not add gelatin.

They use the menu put out by the Plaza Azteca corporate office. All restaurant locations should offer the same menu but call before visiting to avoid surprises.

When we asked if guests could substitute a meat product with the soy meat in other menu dishes, we were told that it could be done, but advised that patrons should make the request upon ordering. Their rep also pointed out that vegan diners should request the white rice in these menu substitutions since the yellow rice is prepared with chicken broth.

VRG readers should check with the manager at any Plaza Azteca restaurant if in doubt about any menu options or ingredients. Here is the website list of locations: https://www.plazaazteca.com/locations-hours

The contents of this posting, our website, and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

For information about other restaurant chains, see https://www.vrg.org/fastfoodinfo.php

For information about vegan and vegetarian restaurants in the USA and Canada, see https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

In Fall 2017 The VRG received an intriguing email from an anonymous writer with this directive: “Please change xanthan gum to ‘sometimes vegan’ on your ingredient list (http://www.vrg.org/ingredients/). Xanthan gum is sometimes processed with egg whites. Thank you.”

Xanthan gum to the best of our knowledge is vegan. It is produced by bacterial fermentation. It is used to thicken food products or, as an emulsifier, to help water- & oil-based ingredients stay together.

This was the first time we had ever heard that xanthan gum is processed with egg whites. Xanthan gum is sometimes used in place of egg whites in recipes with ingredients that would separate if not for some kind of binder. Or possibly the emailer meant to say that egg was a component of the bacterial growth medium or used as a processing aid during manufacture.

To clarify matters, we asked the inquirer for his/her information source. In a follow-up email the writer provided us with a Facebook® post about a questionably vegan frozen dessert at Weis® Frozen Foods of Australia https://www.weis.com.au/products/weis-sorbet/dark-choc stating: “Attached is a screenshot confirming that at least one company used to use non-vegan xanthan gum.”

Weis Frozen Foods of Australia
The VRG followed up by contacting Weis and several vegan groups in Australia. Tuija, member of Animal Rights Advocates® and Vegan Perth® responded. www.ara.org.au www.veganperth.org.au. Zade, member of the Vegetarian & Vegan Society of Queensland® also replied. https://www.vegsoc.org.au/

They offered to contact Weis on our behalf expressing personal interest & an intent to inform their members.

Tuija and Zade relayed the same response that Weis sent to The VRG (see below).

Stewart Eddie, New Products Manager at Weis, replied in an email with the same information that appeared in the Facebook post reprinted above.

Next to the line about the Dark Chocolate and Coconut Sorbet Exotics Stewart added the following:

“*Dark Chocolate and Coconut Sorbet Exotics – 21 March 2018 or later –please note this product is no longer being manufactured.” He then went on to say:
“We have recently changed the supply of one of our ingredients, xanthan Gum, to ensure that our dairy free products are, and continue to be, suitable for vegans. To make the point clear, our sorbets never had xanthan gum derived from egg whites. There was a risk of cross contamination at the manufacturer of the xanthan gum. We risk assessed and deemed inappropriate to uphold a claim of suitable for vegans. These products are now going on shelf and are available to purchase from most major retailers.

We have also introduced a new range in August 2017 called Weis Real Good, Feel Good. This range of 2 tubs and 3 bars are also vegan friendly…”

The VRG followed up by asking: “We believe that the concern relates to the possibility of a processing aid derived from egg whites used to manufacture xanthan gum, not that the xanthan gum is sourced directly from egg whites. Can you confirm that your new xanthan supplier does not use this processing aid?”
Stewart replied: “We have verified our current supplier’s ingredients are indeed vegan suitable.”

So it appears to The VRG that Weis’ sorbet never had xanthan gum derived from egg whites nor processed with egg whites.

We found this information from an Australian group that has done some ingredient investigations.

On its xanthan gum page, it states:

“Originally, we had xanthan gum listed as a vegan friendly additive but after doing some research, we have removed it from the vegan list.

As with most food additives, there is not one hard and fast answer. It is possible to obtain vegan friendly xanthan gum, but it is also a smart idea not to assume that all xanthan gum is vegan friendly. Why isn’t it vegan friendly if it is derived from bacterial fermentation? The issue lies in the manufacturing process, or more specifically, during the clarification of the additive. As described in the patent for xanthan gum a patent for purifying xanthan gum, chicken lysozyme can be used. Additionally, in some instances, we found certain xanthan gum had been derived from fermentation of whey (a dairy by-product).”

This declassification of xanthan gum as vegan appears to be based on academic research. No information was provided on current manufacturers producing xanthan gum using egg whites.

We looked into the links concerning xanthan gum. We found an additional patent which contains the same passage as the link about animal-derived enzymes which could be used to manufacture xanthan gum.
https://patents.google.com/patent/US5994107
https://patents.google.com/patent/US5595892A/en

Here is the pertinent passage from these patent applications filed in the 1990s:
“As for lysozymes, there are known animal lysozymes, such as, egg white lysozymes of chickens, ducks, quails, turkeys, and geese, spleen lysozymes of dogs and rats, and lysozymes present in human urine (of leukemia patients), human milk, and tears. Plant lysozymes have been found in turnips, cabbages, and papaya juice. For the present invention, however, the origins of the enzymes are of little importance.”

In these patents, “Lysozyme Taiyo” was used. It is identified as a product of Taiyo Chemical Co.®

This 1998 book reference also refers to Taiyo Chemical Co. in the context of a lysozyme sourced from egg white.
https://books.google.com/books?id=X-DW_jzg2LgC&pg=PA229&lpg=PA229&dq=Lysozyme+Taiyo%22+of+Taiyo+Chemical&source=bl&ots=DOmv_I5o7S&sig=TrcZMcgYH-Wu5-6Oz_Gjge9A_XI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjA6PH98ILbAhVFnFkKHStoAGUQ6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q=Lysozyme%20Taiyo%22%20of%20Taiyo%20Chemical&f=false

Both the patents and the book are dated from the 1990s. This fact alone raises our suspicions about whether it’s true today on a commercial basis.

Taiyo Chemical Co.
We looked up Taiyo Chemical Co. to see if they produce an egg white-derived lysozyme today. Although the company may have done so in its beginnings during the 1950s there is no mention of such a product today.
http://www.taiyo-chemicals.co.jp/en/

Also cited was a 1977 article on whey used in xanthan production titled “Xanthan Gum from Acid Whey”: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/bk-1977-0045.ch003 Again, the date raises the question of current practice.

What Current Xanthan Gum Manufacturers Say – No Egg Whites Ever
The VRG contacted three companies which manufacturer xanthan gum.

Cargill® did not respond to our inquiry at all.

We spoke with Tom at AEP Colloids® http://www.aepcolloids.com/products/xanthan-gum/ in January 2018. He told us in response to our question about egg whites in xanthan gum production: “Egg whites are never used. We use corn. Others may use other carbohydrates such as cane sugar.”

We also communicated by email with Jason from CP Kelco® Co. in February 2018. https://www.cpkelco.com/products/xanthan-gum/

He attached a letter to his reply from Cheryl Van Dyne, Director, Global Regulatory Affairs at CP Kelco. It stated: “Xanthan gum is a polysaccharide produced by bacterial fermentation of a pure culture of Xanthomonas campestris with protein and carbohydrate sources, such as but not limited to soy or corn analogs.”

We followed up by asking specifically if egg whites or cane sugar were used. Jason replied by attaching the product information sheet for xanthan gum. He prefaced the attachment by saying “The answers you requested can be found in the attached document.”

The document stated that xanthan gum was “suitable for a vegetarian diet.” It also stated that xanthan gum was “not suitable for a vegan diet.”

The reason why CP Kelco’s xanthan gum is not vegan was given later on in the document in a table on allergens and xanthan gum production. It’s clear from the table that xanthan gum is not declared vegan because it is manufactured in a factory with and on the same equipment as products containing egg. However, the xanthan gum is not cross-contaminated with egg products nor are egg products used to make it.

Corn is included in this allergen table because it serves as the growth medium for the bacteria making the xanthan gum. Cane sugar is not included since it is not one of the eight allergens which must be declared according to the FDA. However, CP Kelco included other substances in their table which are not FDA-regulated allergens such as corn.

I asked Jason if cane sugar’s absence from the list meant that cane sugar could not be a food source. Jason replied “Correct.”

Here’s a video on xanthan gum production at CP Kelco’s plant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=12&v=x4q1qXX4yhI

General Conclusion about Xanthan Gum Manufacture
Neither egg nor milk products are used in xanthan gum’s manufacture. They are not used as either growth media or as processing aids.

CP Kelco states in its product information document that xanthan gum is not considered vegan because it is produced on machinery where egg products had been.

However, CP Kelco follows good manufacturing practices (GMPs) as they state in their product information document. In between product runs, machinery is thoroughly sanitized. There may be very slight residues present but all reasonable precautions dictated by GMPs had been taken to avoid any cross-contamination.

It seem in order to protect itself from legal liability in case someone with an egg allergy or a vegan consumes CP Kelco’s xanthan gum and tries to sue the company claiming they had been misinformed or misled, CP Kelco does not call it “vegan.”

As we’ve shown in the case of other ingredients, https://www.vrg.org/blog/2018/03/30/vegan-l-cysteine-update-l-cysteine-as-an-anti-browning-agent-for-pre-cut-fruit/ commercial manufacture is different from what happens in research laboratories. It may be true that animal- or dairy-derived ingredients could theoretically be used to produce certain ingredients on an industrial scale. There may even be patents on these procedures.

However, if non-animal and non-dairy alternatives are available, companies today in 2018 seem to often choose them over animal/dairy sources to manufacture their ingredients.

There are several reasons for this. Here are a few:
-Non-animal/dairy sources may be cheaper.
-There’s a more consistent supply of non-animal/dairy sources.
-There’s more consistent quality of non-animal/dairy sources.
-It’s easier to get religious certifications on non-animal/dairy sources.
-There are consumer concerns about animal-carried illnesses (such as BSE or Bird Flu) that consumers may have related to animal- or dairy-derived ingredients.

In light of this analysis, The Vegetarian Resource Group believes that the vegan classification of xanthan gum is correct. If you have documentation otherwise from companies currently producing xanthan gum, please share with us. https://www.vrg.org/ingredients/index.php#xanthan_gum

The contents of this website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

More ingredient information is at https://www.vrg.org/ingredients/index.php

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS
With over 15 locations in Virginia, Washington, DC, and Maryland, Perfect Pita is a family-owned business founded in 1994. Today Perfect Pita also operates Perfect Daughter®, a catering service run by the founder’s daughter. Viewers may learn more about the family business through the video on the site’s About Us page: http://theperfectpita.com/about/

Perfect Pita restaurants and catering company offer a Mediterranean-American cuisine. For locations, visit: http://theperfectpita.com/locations/

Perfect Pita’s menu http://theperfectpita.com/menu/ has a special vegan section including:
•white bean salad
•shepherd salad
•tabouli
•stuffed grape leaves
•falafel
•navy bean soup
•hummus

Between August and November 2017 The VRG spoke and communicated by email with Rosario Castro and Fatih Altun at Perfect Pita about their menu. Here are excerpts from the exchange.

VRG: Does your pita bread contain milk or dairy ingredients such as whey?
Perfect Pita: Our pitas don’t contain any milk nor whey.

VRG: Is the Hummus Sandwich all-vegetable?
Perfect Pita: Our Hummus Sandwich is vegan.

VRG: Is the tzatziki sauce made with yogurt?
Perfect Pita: Our tzatziki sauce is made with sour cream, not yogurt.

VRG: Is the Falafel Pita all-vegetable without the tzatziki sauce?
Perfect Pita: Yes, it is vegan without the tzatziki.

VRG: Do you make the hummus in your restaurants starting with dry beans?
Perfect Pita: We do make our hummus starting with dry beans.

VRG: Are all hummus varieties all-vegetable? Do any varieties contain cheese?
Perfect Pita: All our hummus (all flavors) is vegan (no meat, no dairy).

VRG: Is the falafel all-vegetable?
Perfect Pita: Our falafel is vegetarian and it can also be vegan since our tzatziki sauce comes on the side and you don’t have to necessarily get it. Tzatziki can also be substituted by our vegan hummus.

VRG: Has the falafel been fried in fresh oil? Which kind?
Perfect Pita: We use canola oil.

VRG: Is anything else prepared in the oil used to cook the falafel? If so, what?
Perfect Pita: No, just falafel.

VRG: Is the tabouli all-vegetable?
Perfect Pita: Tabouli is vegan.

VRG: Is the white bean salad all-vegetable?
Perfect Pita: The white bean salad is vegan.

VRG: Is the navy bean soup all-vegetable?
Perfect Pita: The navy bean soup is vegan.

VRG: What are the grape leaves stuffed with?
Perfect Pita: Our grape leaves are stuffed with rice.

VRG: Has the rice in the grape leaves been seasoned with animal flavors or cooked in animal broth?
Perfect Pita: No. The rice in the grape leaves are not flavored with any kind of animal flavor nor animal broth.

VRG: Do you have any salad dressing which is all-vegetable and made without honey?
Perfect Pita: Our homemade red wine vinaigrette doesn’t contain any honey or animal product.

VRG: Has the red wine in the red wine vinaigrette been clarified with an animal ingredient such as albumen or gelatin?
Perfect Pita: We don’t clarify it with gelatin.

VRG: Does the red wine vinaigrette contain sugar?
Perfect Pita: No sugar is added.

VRG: Do the vegetable components of your menu come into contact with dairy products or meat/fish?
Perfect Pita: We do allergen separation and our veggies don’t come into contact with any meat/fish or dairy.
Perfect Pizzas:
VRG: Are the crusts all-vegetable?
Perfect Pita: Pizza crust is vegetarian.

VRG: Is there L-cysteine in the crust?
Perfect Pita: There is no L-cysteine in our crust.

VRG: Is there sugar in the crust?
Perfect Pita: Yes. We do add sugar to our pizza dough.

VRG: Are there any animal-derived ingredients in the red sauce?
Perfect Pita: No.

VRG: What is in the “spinach mix” pizza topping?
Perfect Pita: The spinach mix is cooked spinach mixed with feta cheese and onions.

VRG: Does your feta cheese contain animal rennet?
Perfect Pita: Our feta cheese contains vegetable-based microbial rennet.

VRG: Does the feta cheese contain animal lipase?
Perfect Pita: It contains animal-based lipase from goat.

VRG: Are your mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses made with animal-derived enzymes?
Perfect Pita: Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses [are made with] cow’s whole milk and animal-derived enzyme.

Perfect Pita® Bagel and Pita Bread Are Vegan
Perfect Pita’s Bagel
L-cysteine
Rosario Castro of Perfect Pita told us in August 2017 that L-cysteine served as a dough conditioner in their bagel. We wanted to know its source and contacted her supplier, Soft Stuff Distributors® http://www.gosoftstuff.com/ who in turn asked us to contact the bagel manufacturer, Always Bagels®.

Anthony Pariti of Always Bagels wrote to us in September 2017 that “the cysteine is sourced from vegetable fermentation.” When we asked for more explanation, he in turn directed us to speak with the R&D department of his supplier, Puratos®, who sells the dough conditioner that he uses to make the bagels. After speaking with Puratos we confirmed that Perfect Pita’s bagels are made with microbially-derived L-cysteine manufactured by Wacker®.] https://www.wacker.com/cms/en/products/product_groups/cystein.jsp

SUGAR
Always Bagels: There is no bone char in the filtration. It comes to us white and again the process they described to me is the white color happens during the filtration of the sugar at their facility.

The sugar supplier emailed us a letter from Mark Rudolph, the Quality Assurance and Quality Control Manager at Sweeteners Plus® dated February 2017 regarding “Bone char use in the production of refined sugar /vegan statement”: “Although natural charcoal, or bone char, is sometimes employed as a filter media in the production of refined cane sugar, Sweeteners Plus is not currently sourcing bulk Granulated Sugar manufactured using bone char.

Currently all sugar products, organic and conventional, sold under the Sweeteners Plus label including bulk Liquid Sugars and bulk and packaged Granulated Sugar are manufactured without the use of bone char from sugar beets or sugar cane, neither of which is derived from an animal source.

Our Lakeville, NY facility is certified Kosher, Halal suitable, and uses no additives that contain animal sources.”

Perfect Pita Pita Bread
The VRG learned from Rosario at Perfect Pita that there is no L-cysteine in their pita bread which they make in their restaurants starting from dry flour. She also furnished to us a no-cow bone char vegan declaration from their sugar supplier. There are no dairy ingredients in the pita bread at Perfect Pita.

For more information on Perfect Pita catering: http://theperfectpita.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/New-Catering-Menu-May.pdf

The contents of this posting, our website, and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

For more chain restaurant information, see http://www.vrg.org/fastfoodinfo.php

For information on vegetarian and vegan restaurants, see VRG Online Veggie Restaurant Guide

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

In 2006, three Greek childhood friends opened full-service Cava Mezze http://www.cavamezze.com/ in their Rockville, MD hometown followed by other locations in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia. The restaurants featured small plate (mezze) Greek dining.

As a spin-off on Cava Mezze, the founders launched in 2011 Cava Grill http://cava.com/, a fast-casual, Greek- and Mediterranean-inspired restaurant chain with locations in the Delaware/Maryland/Virginia region. Since then DC-based Cava has expanded to the New York City area and California with plans to open locations in North Carolina, Texas, and Massachusetts by 2018. As of December 2017, there are approximately forty Cava Grill locations in the United States according to their website: http://cava.com/locations

Since late 2008, Cava’s dips & spreads are sold at specialty markets nationwide: http://cava.com/products/where-to-buy

The VRG corresponded by email with Megan Vlasho, Customer Experience Manager, and Zach Korte, Food Safety Quality Engineer at Cava Grill, to find out more about its vegan menu items. Here is what we learned between July to November 2017. Our questions are arranged by Cava’s menu item categories as they appear on the chain’s website.

Base:
The VRG: Does your pita or mini-pita contain milk, whey, or any dairy ingredient?
Cava: No, none of our pitas contain dairy.

The VRG: Does your pita or mini-pita contain sugar?
Cava: They contain sugar.

The VRG: Do you use organic sugar in your pita breads making them from scratch? If you use a premix or premade dough, do you know if the sugar in the pita is non-cow bone char processed?
Cava: We get our pita bread from a third party, so I’ll have to ask them about their sugar.

Zach wrote: I’ve been in contact with our pita supplier. They state that they are 100% vegetarian, and they are halal-certified, which ensures no animal products are present in the final product. Their suppliers, including sugar, are confidential, so they could not share the information about bone char processing.

The VRG: Is L-cysteine used as a dough conditioner in your pita or mini-pita?
Cava: Our supplier … (said) In the past it was made from sugar beets; however this has recently changed and they are now using the ingredient which is made from feathers.

The VRG: Do you use meat stock or broths to cook the rice?
Cava: Vegetable broth.

Dips + Spreads:
The VRG: Do you make your hummus starting from dry garbanzo beans?
Cava: We use canned chickpeas in our hummus.

The VRG: Is the hummus all-vegetable?
Cava: We have a number of hummus options.
[VRG Note: Complete hummus ingredient information is presented by clicking on entries shown here: http://cava.com/products.]

The VRG: Does the roasted red pepper hummus contain cheese?
Cava: No.

The VRG: Does the harissa sauce contain mayonnaise or any dairy?
Cava: No.
[VRG Note: Cava’s other menu offerings in this category: Tzatziki Sauce, Eggplant & Red Pepper Dip, and Crazy Feta contain dairy.]

The VRG: Is your feta cheese made with animal rennet?
Cava: I spoke with our feta supplier and they use vegetarian microbial rennet.

The VRG: Does your feta cheese contain animal lipase?
Cava: [It contains] an animal-based lipase.

The VRG: Does your feta cheese contain any other animal-derived enzymes?
Cava: [The lipase is] the only animal-derived enzyme in the product.

The VRG: Does the yogurt in your Tzatziki Sauce and the Eggplant & Red Pepper Dip contain any animal-derived enzymes or cultures?
Cava: The yogurt in our dips & spreads is manufactured using non-animal enzymes and cultures.

Protein:
The VRG: Is the falafel all-vegetable? Is it prepared away from all meats?
Cava: Our beef meatballs, lamb meatballs, and falafel are prepared using the same prep equipment (bowls) but they are thoroughly washed and sanitized between their use with different recipes.

The VRG: Is the falafel fried in fresh oil? If so, which type of oil?
Cava: The falafel is fried in canola oil, which is changed on a regular basis and only used to fry our falafel, pita chips, and pita crisps toppings.

The VRG: Are the pita chips made from the pita bread?
Cava: Yes.

The VRG: Are the roasted vegetables prepared in animal fats or in contact with meats during storage and/or preparation?
Cava: No.

Toppings:
The VRG: Are the pickled onions and/or pickled banana peppers made with vinaigrette?
Cava: No, but our pickled onions do contain sugar.

The VRG: Does the cabbage slaw contain vinaigrette?
Cava: No. It uses olive oil and lemon juice.

The VRG: Are the tomato + cucumber and the tomato + onion salads all-vegetable?
Cava: Yes.

The VRG: Is the Cauliflower Quinoa Tabbouleh all-vegetable?
Cava: Yes, with the addition of olive oil, herbs, and seasoning.

The VRG: Is the White Bean Salad all-vegetable?
Cava: Yes, with the addition of olive oil, herbs, and seasoning.

Dressings:
The VRG: Are the following dressings all-vegetable?
•Apricot Dill
•Greek Vinaigrette
•Lemon Herb Tahini
•Green Harissa
Cava: Yes.

The VRG: Do they contain added sugar?
Cava: Yes to all but our Summer Spicy Apricot contains agave.

Later we asked for a sugar update:
The VRG: Has Cava begun using 100% USDA Organic sugar that is never filtered through cow bone char?
Cava: We switched to organic sugar, which does not use bone char, about a month ago.
[VRG Note: We received this reply on October 10, 2017.]

The VRG: Looking again at your allergen page and menu, I noticed “mezze” on the allergen page (in the “base + extras” table) but did not see it on your menu. What specifically is “mezze” and how is it vegetarian?
Cava: “Mezze” on our menu refers to your choice of three dips + pita chips, which are all vegetarian. Ingredient specifications for each of our dips can be found on our Allergens page.

Cava offers some seasonal menu items. Viewing its Fall 2017 menu, The VRG asked the following about fall menu offerings.

The VRG: Are the following all-vegetable?
•Greek Minestrone Soup with Harissa
•Juices: Apple Cinnamon Sage, Cucumber Mint, Blackberry Orange Shrub, Rosemary Limeade
•Seasonal Roasted Vegetables
•Carrots & Currants topping
•Yellow Pepper Tahini dressing
Cava: Yes, all those menu items contain only vegetables/vegetarian ingredients.

The VRG: Do the fall menu items listed in the previous question contain sugar?
Cava: The rosemary limeade contains organic cane sugar. The shrub and cucumber mint juices contain agave.

The VRG: Do any of your menu items contain honey?
Cava: None of our menu items contain honey.

Interested readers may find out more about Cava Grill:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/meggentaylor/2016/07/13/is-cava-grill-the-next-shake-shack-for-fast-casual-mediterranean-inspired-cuisine/#5081a21366de

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

Founded in 2012, Fruitive is a vegan fast casual restaurant certified organic by Oregon Tilth. There currently are three restaurants in Virginia and one in Washington, DC. Visit: https://fruitive.com/locations/ for location information.

Fruitive will open its fifth restaurant in Washington, DC’s Dupont Circle in Summer 2018: https://dc.eater.com/2017/9/22/16350232/fruitive-dupont-circleFruitive’s Vegan Menu

Fruitive’s menu features:
• Liquid Meals (smoothies)
• Superberry Bowls
• Toasts
• Waffles
• Sandwiches
• Salads
• Soups
• Wraps
• Collard Tacos
• Cold-Pressed Juices
VRG Note: Menus are subject to seasonal changes.

Fruitive told The VRG that most of their certified USDA Organic fruit and vegetables are locally grown. In their own words:
“Fruitive currently sources about 60% of its produce from small organic farms in the Chesapeake Bay bioregion. Ingredients are sourced from local growers from small one-person operations to larger growing co-ops like Tuscaroroa Organic Growers Co-op.” http://www.tog.coop/

Complete ingredient information for all menu items is displayed on the ingredients page. https://fruitive.com/ingredients

To display the ingredient information for each menu option, first click on menu type (such as “salads”) found at the top of the page under the Fruitive Health Benefits heading. The ingredient statement placed on the right appears on the next screen.

At the bottom of this ingredients page appears a helpful Ingredient Index arranged by category such as vegetables, nuts, and spices. Included is nutritional information, health benefits, and food trivia about each ingredient.

Fruitive’s Ingredients
The VRG asked Fruitive’s founder, Greg Rozeboom, about ingredients in its menu items. Here is our Q&A exchange:

VRG: Are all of your ingredients 100% USDA Organic?
Fruitive: We strive to source as many quality organic ingredients that we can. However any non-organic ingredients we use will be listed on our Organic Daily List, which is located at https://fruitive.com/organicdaily

VRG: Do you add sugar to any of your plant milks?
Fruitive: We do not add any sugar to our plant-based milks.



VRG: When you refer to your milks as “house-made” do you mean that you start by grinding up the nuts and adding water?
Fruitive: Yes, our house-made milks are made by grinding up the nuts and adding water.

VRG: Do you add anything else?
Fruitive: Our milks are simply made with nuts or coconut that are ground, soaked, and blended into alkaline water, with a touch of sea salt.



VRG: Which defoamer is used in your maple syrup?
Fruitive: We source our maple syrup from Bascom Maple Farms, which uses a “high-awake ultra-refined organic sunflower seed oil.” 



VRG: Is the sugar on the candied pecans 100% USDA Organic?

Fruitive: We use coconut sugar from Earth Circle Organics that is 95% Organic, certified by Organic Certifiers.



VRG: Is the Flax & Spelt Bread all-vegetable? Are there any dough conditioners such as L-cysteine? Is there any added sugar?
Fruitive: The flax and spelt bread is 100% vegan as is everything on the menu. The ingredients are: spelt, flax seeds, raisins, gluten, yeast, and unrefined salt. There are no dough conditioners…There is no added sugar in the bread.

VRG: Is there any added sugar in the peanut or almond butter?

Fruitive: We do not add any sugar to our peanut or almond butter, which are both house- made with just ground almonds and peanuts.



VRG: Is the Basil Pesto Mayo eggless?
Fruitive: The Basil Pesto Mayo is eggless, and made with a canola oil-based mayo.



VRG: Are the Buckwheat Waffles all-vegetable? Are they made with L-cysteine?
Fruitive: Our Buckwheat Waffles are made from a house-made mix of buckwheat and gluten-free flours that are all-vegetable and do not contain any dough conditioners.

VRG: Are the coconut flakes unsweetened?
Fruitive: Our coconut flakes and coconut shreds are both unsweetened.



VRG: Is the whole wheat tortilla all-vegetable? Does it contain any dough conditioners such as L-cysteine or any added sugar?
Fruitive: It is vegan. There is no L-cysteine and no added sugar.

VRG: Are the spicy aioli and sriracha aiola sauces all-vegetable?
Fruitive: They are the same dressing, and both are all-vegetable, using canola oil-based mayo.

VRG: Are the hummus (original and spicy), basil vinaigrette and ranch dressing all-vegetable? Do they contain any added sugar?
Fruitive: All of these dressings and spreads are all-vegetable and none have added sugar.



VRG: Is the Herb Mayo eggless?
Fruitive: The Herb Mayo is eggless and canola oil-based.



VRG: Do the carrot ginger dressing and caramelized onions contain any added sugar?
Fruitive: Neither of these have any added sugar.

VRG: Are the croutons dairyless?
Fruitive: The croutons are milkless, with no added sugar, made using the One Degree Flax Spelt Bread we use for our sandwiches.

VRG: Is Honey in ANY of the menu items?
Fruitive: Fruitive doesn’t use honey.

Fruitive’s House-Made, Cold-Pressed Juices and Juice Packs
On its website, visitors may pre-order and purchase cold-pressed juice packs that customers must pick up at their local Fruitive restaurant. See: https://fruitive.com/juice-packs/

On its juicing page, https://fruitive.com/juicing-101, it states that “there are approximately 6 to 9 pounds of produce in each Fruitive 6 pack, which is the equivalent of 6 to 9 large salads. We use heaping amounts of kale, spinach, and other nutrient-dense ingredients without the use of excessive fillers. We…never add water to our juices…”

Here are responses to our questions regarding Fruitive’s liquid meals and juices:

VRG: How are liquid meals served?
Fruitive: Liquid Meals (smoothies) are served in Fabri-Kal® Greenware® compostable cups, made from clear PLA corn-derived plastic. [VRG Note: For more information on polylactic acid (PLA) see http://www.fabri-kal.com/product-solutions/greenware-faq/]

VRG: How are juices served?
Fruitive: Juices (carry out or dine in) are all in glass 8 and 16 oz. bottles. Fruitive offers a discount off the next juice purchased if guests return the glass bottle. The glassware is essentially Mason jars with aluminum covers that screw on.

VRG: Can guests purchase juices from the website and have them home-delivered?
Fruitive: The juices are only available at Fruitive restaurants, not online and not at retailers. The FDA doesn’t allow unpasteurized or non-HPP juices to be sold wholesale. [VRG Note: “HPP” is an acronym for “high pressure processing.” For more information on this technique see http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/citrus15/presentations/4_Thurs%20PM%20PDF/0130%20RAGHUBWEER%20PDF.pdf]

VRG: How are the juice packs sold?
Fruitive: Pre-ordered juice packs are in glass. The juice pack boxes are made from compostable cardboard.

Fruitive’s Use of Produce Scraps and Juice Pulp
Fruitive said:
“Fruitive uses all of their food scraps (the ends of onions, the skin of butternut squash, carrot greens, broccoli stalks, mushroom stems, kale stems, etc.) and a lot of their juice pulp in their house-made vegetable stock. After making the stock and straining out the scraps, Fruitive will sometimes take the scraps to a local community garden to be used for compost.

Unused produce and dry goods are donated to Food Not Bombs, a local group fighting homeless hunger. http://foodnotbombs.net/new_site/index.php

From juice pulp from over a dozen fruits and vegetables, Fruitive dehydrates and powders different pulps to use as spices in recipes. Turmeric, ginger, celery, parsley, and cilantro pulp all make great spice powders and taste better than store-bought powders because they are so fresh.

Examples of carrot food waster use:
-Lacto-fermentation to create probiotic carrot slaw
-Mixing with fresh, locally grown napa cabbage and daikon radishes to make kimchi
-Using the excess kraut brine, adding it to surplus juice that would otherwise get tossed, and making probiotic beverages.
-Fruitive has recently created a Portobello BBQ sandwich, pulling unused portobello mushrooms stems into BBQ to look and taste just like pulled pork.”

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

For information about vegan and vegetarian restaurants around the USA and Canada, see http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

With over 20 locations mostly in Colorado but also in Texas, Virginia, Georgia, and Minnesota, Garbanzo offers several Mediterranean-inspired vegan menu options. See: http://www.eatgarbanzo.com/menu/

The Vegetarian Resource Group first spoke with Joe Chum, Director of Support Services at Garbanzo, in May 2017. We noted a few changes in their website soon after and followed up with Joe between June and October 2017.

Based on our multiple phone discussions and emails, we generated the following list of Garbanzo’s vegan menu options (excluding raw vegetables) according to the website menu scrolling from top to bottom:

Vegan Menu Options at Garbanzo
•pita bread* (white, wheat, gluten-free)
•tortilla* (white)
•falafel
•portobello mushrooms
•original hummus
•seasonal hummus
•tabbouleh salad
•tomato cucumber salad
•seasoned rice
•baba ganoush
•cilantro sauce
•red chili sauce
•Greek vinaigrette*
•tahini sauce
•homemade fries
•homemade chips
*Item contains sugar although information received from this chain differed during the months The VRG was conducting research. In the list above, the latest information obtained during October 2017 is presented. See Q&A below for more information.

According to page 5 of Garbanzo’s allergen sheet the Mediterranean garlic sauce contains egg (mayonnaise) and the Tzatziki sauce contains milk (yogurt). See:
http://www.eatgarbanzo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/16-2300506_garbanzo_allergen_sheet_04-2016.pdf

In May 2017, Joe told us:
•“The pita bread does not contain milk.”
•“The seasoned rice used to contain chicken broth but it no longer does.”
•“There is no L-cysteine in the pita bread.” (L-cysteine is a dough conditioner that is most often derived from poultry feathers although microbial alternatives exist).
•“The flatbread contains dry milk.”
•“The portobello mushrooms are prepared in their own sauté pan away from meat products.”

Garbanzo’s Grab & Go Menu
Also in May 2017, Joe informed us that the Vegetarian Wrap on the Grab & Go menu (see their allergen sheet given above) “is usually made with the white or whole wheat tortilla and anything can go in it,” stated Joe. [VRG Note: In October 2017, Joe told us that Garbanzo offers only white tortillas.]

Also on the Grab & Go menu are
•Hummus & Veggie Snack Pack
•Greek Vegetarian Salad
[VRG Note: In September 2017, Joe told us this about the Greek Vegetarian Salad: “We no longer offer this item. It was just salad with Greek Vinaigrette dressing.”]

The VRG: Which bread is used for the Mediterranean Wrap?
Garbanzo: Usually tortilla bread is used.

The VRG: Is the flatbread ever used for the Mediterranean Wrap?
Garbanzo: Usually tortilla bread but if the locations use flat bread, sugar is in the flat bread.

The VRG: Are white or whole wheat tortillas available to make the Mediterranean burrito?
Garbanzo: Yes, but it depends on location. In general, only white is available.

Microingredient Questions for Garbanzo
The VRG: Is there any added sugar in the Greek vinaigrette (including sugar in its components)?
Garbanzo: There is sugar in the Greek vinaigrette.

The VRG: Is there any dairy including whey, casein, etc. in the Greek vinaigrette?
Garbanzo: There is no dairy in the Greek vinaigrette.

The VRG: Is there any added sugar in the baklava (including sugar in its components)?
Garbanzo: There is no sugar in the baklava but there is honey.

The VRG: Is there any dairy including whey, casein, etc. in the baklava?
Garbanzo: Yes, there is dairy in the baklava.

The VRG: Is there any added sugar in the tortillas?
Garbanzo: No.

The VRG: Is L-cysteine used as a dough conditioner in the tortillas?
Garbanzo: No.

The VRG: Does the seasonal hummus vary from time to time?
Garbanzo: Yes.

The VRG: If so, could there be dairy such as feta cheese in the seasonal hummus?
Garbanzo: There’s no plan to use feta cheese in our seasonal hummus at the moment. We are very careful on adding dairy to any of our menu items.

The VRG: Does your feta cheese contain rennet, an animal-derived enzyme? If not, what is its enzyme source?
Garbanzo: From our supplier (manufacturer): “Microbial enzymes and an animal lipase are used in the manufacturing of the [feta cheese].”

The VRG: Could there ever be animal ingredients or flavors in the seasonal hummus?
Garbanzo: No. We try to maintain most of our items to be gluten-free or vegan or at least vegetarian.

The VRG: You stated that there was no milk in the pita. Is there whey or any other dairy ingredient?
Garbanzo: There is no dairy in the pita.

The VRG: Is there added sugar in the pita?
Garbanzo: Yes. There has to be sugar to feed the yeast.

The VRG: Is the falafel deep fried in fresh oil away from all meats?
Garbanzo: Yes. We don’t use the fryers for any meat or animal products.

The VRG: Is the baba ganoush an all-vegetable dish?
Garbanzo: Yes, it has only roast eggplant purée, tahini, garlic, and salt.

The VRG: Is your sugar from sugar cane, beet sugar or some combination? [Note: Non-USDA Certified Organic cane sugar may have been processed through cow bone char.]
Garbanzo: Our sugar is from beet.

We followed up in June-October 2017 with these questions and emails.

The VRG: Are the gluten-free pita and the gyro pita all-vegan? No L-cysteine, whey, honey or other animal-derived ingredients in either of them?
Garbanzo: Gyro is not; pita is vegan.

The VRG: Is it true that you now offer the following breads:
•pita
•gluten-free pita
•gyro bread
•flatbread (some locations)
•tortilla (white, whole wheat)
Garbanzo:
•pita Yes
•gluten-free pita Yes
•gyro bread Same as Flatbread below
•flatbread (some locations) Correct
•tortilla (white, whole wheat) White only

The VRG: Which, if any, contains dairy including whey, casein or their derivatives?
Garbanzo: Flatbread

The VRG: Which, if any, contains sugar?
Garbanzo: They all have sugar.

The VRG recommends contacting this chain directly if diners have any additional questions for further clarification. Note that ingredients at all restaurants can change over time and there may be conflicts with what is on the website.

The contents of this posting, our website, and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgement about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

For information on other restaurant chains, see:
www.vrg.org/fastfoodinfo.php

For information on vegetarian and vegan restaurants throughout the USA and Canada, see:
http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

By Jeanne Yacoubo, MS

A long-time VRG vegan supporter called us to report a verbal exchange with a Whittier, CA Olive Garden employee that had left her confused about the breadsticks. She asked us to look into it.

Our member told us that she often asks ingredient questions when dining out even after searching through restaurant websites for ingredient information and ingredient lists. She referred to Olive Garden’s vegan list which contains the breadsticks in the top spot. https://media.olivegarden.com/images/site/ext/pdfs/olive-garden-veg-vegan_073117.pdf

Our supporter found her Olive Garden server to be “courteous and helpful.” She was surprised that, even without asking for it, her server volunteered the information that “the breadsticks have butter but can be ordered without it.”
The VRG sent Olive Garden a message about this apparent contradiction on behalf of our member through the chain’s website contact form. This is what we asked in August 2017:

“Hello!

I was at an Olive Garden restaurant and the server told me that the breadsticks had been cooked with butter.

I see breadsticks listed on your vegetarian/vegan list as “vegan.”

Do you use margarine to cook the breadsticks? Does the margarine have dairy in it (including whey)?

Can I get just plain breadsticks without butter or margarine used to cook them?

A Guest Relations Representative informed us during a phone call:
“It was the server’s mistake. There is no butter in the breadsticks. They are not cooked with butter or margarine. Margarine and garlic salt are added later. Diners can request that it not be added. Butter is never served with breadsticks.”

We asked if any dairy ingredient such as whey or sodium caseinate were in the margarine. We also asked if there were any sugar in either the breadsticks or margarine. Lastly, we wanted to confirm that L-cysteine, a common dough conditioner that is often derived from human hair or poultry feathers, was not in the breadsticks.

After their researching, we were told in an email: “In regards to our breadsticks, they do not contain whey, sodium caseinate, or sugar.”

We were told in another phone call that “The breadsticks do not contain L-cysteine.”

Additionally, we were told in emails that:
“Margarine that’s brushed on top of the bread sticks does NOT contain dairy ingredients, whey, sodium caseinate, or any other form of caseinate such as potassium caseinate.”

“Margarine brushed on top of bread sticks does not contain sugar ingredient.”

Interested vegetarians and vegans may be interested to read other relevant information that Olive Garden has arranged on a page especially devoted to answering common vegetarian and vegan questions: http://www.olivegarden.com/nutrition/vegetarian-and-vegan-options

To support The Vegetarian Resource Group research, donate at www.vrg.org/donate

Join The Vegetarian Resource Group at http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

More information on chain restaurants can be found at
http://www.vrg.org/fastfoodinfo.php

Vegan and vegetarian restaurants in the USA and Canada can be found at
http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

An email forwarded to The VRG in August 2017 from online reader Ben had been delivered to his inbox from a “Nutrition Analyst” at Papa John’s in response to his Papa John’s online inquiry.

This is how Ben introduced the following Papa John’s information to us:

“I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian who has frequently visited your site, reading about information such as disambiguated food ingredients and specific food content from name-brand restaurants. I wish to donate information in the hopes of helping to update such regarding the Papa John’s pizza chain.”

Here in its entirety is the forwarded email from Papa John’s addressed to Ben in response to his “…inquiring whether or not their Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks were vegetarian (lacto-ovo).” Papa John’s responded to Ben within 12 hours of his inquiry.

Papa John’s email:

“The majority of our products contain bio-synthesized and/or vegetable-derived enzymes, including our mozzarella cheese.

However, the cheese blend used on our Tuscan Six Cheese Pizza does contain animal-derived enzymes.

Our pizza dough contains fungal or bacterial derivatives.

Our garlic sauce contains lactic acid, which is not classified as an animal derivative because it has been fermented.

Blue cheese and ranch DO contain animal-derived rennet.

The rennet that is used in the Papa John’s Parmesan cheese is a GMO-free microbial rennet. It is not animal-derived. It would be suitable for vegetarian consumption.”

The VRG appreciates Ben taking the time to forward this email.

It appears from the website that the breadsticks are made with pizza dough that does not contain L-cysteine (most often derived from poultry feathers). L-cysteine is not listed on the website menu nor on the allergen page.
http://www.papajohns.com/company/papa-johns-ingredients.html#pizza

http://www.papajohns.com/allergens/papa-johns-allergen-guide.html

Unlike many restaurant chains, Papa John’s includes “vegetable” as the source for their mono- and diglycerides in the ingredients list for the Garlic Parmesan Sauce. However, this chain does not specify if the “natural flavors” in this sauce are vegetable-derived. (They may or may not be.)

There is sugar in menu components which appear otherwise vegan (the original and pan doughs and the pizza and pan sauces but not the Garlic Parmesan Sauce).

Concerned readers may wish to contact Papa John’s for more information on whether the natural flavors are vegetable-derived and if the sugar had been processed using cow bone char.

See our previous reports on cheese enzymes and sugar for more information:
http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2008issue3/2008_issue3_update_renet.php

http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2007issue4/2007_issue4_sugar.php

Here are a couple of our past reports on Papa John’s:

http://www.vrg.org/blog/2014/03/12/update-on-papa-johns-vegetarian-and-vegan-menu-options/

http://www.vrg.org/blog/2014/04/07/papa-johns-dough-enzyme-stearic-acid-and-cookie-ingredients-are-vegetarian/

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

For additional information about quick service chains, see:
http://www.vrg.org/fastfoodinfo.php

For information about vegetarian and vegan restaurants and where you might be able to order vegan pizza, see:
http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

Annica Kreider, VP of Brand Development for Mellow Mushroom told us in 2014 that the chain was considering a few more vegetarian and vegan menu options and that they were hopeful that they would be added within a year. http://www.vrg.org/blog/2014/12/17/vegan-options-at-mellow-mushroom/

We recently checked the company website in March 2017 and viewed a “Herb Veggie Burger” featuring quinoa and kale. Roasted Potatoes also appeared on the menu. 

We noticed in May 2017 that the Herb Veggie Burger was no longer on the corporate menu. http://mellowmushroom.com/corpmenu

We wondered if it had been removed from all locations. The Vegetarian Resource Group called several Mellow Mushroom restaurants around the country to find out.
We were surprised that all six Mellows that we had contacted stated that they served the Herb Veggie Burger. What was even more surprising were the different answers we received when we asked if this menu offering was all-vegetable (i.e., vegan).

We first called three Mellow restaurants in the Maryland-Virginia-Washington, DC area. The managers at all of these locations stated that they served the Herb Veggie Burger.

The managers at the Washington, DC and Maryland stores put us on long holds and checked on its ingredients. They both stated that the Herb Veggie Burger was all-vegetable. They also stated that the bun on which it is served contained no dairy nor L-cysteine.

A Virginia Mellow manager said quite the opposite. “The Herb Veggie Burger is not vegan because it contains egg as a binder.” He voiced agreement with the others saying its bun was dairy- and L-cysteine-free. However, unlike the first two managers, he stated that the bun is automatically buttered; guests must request that butter be left off.

We next ventured West and called three more Mellow Mushroom restaurants in Utah, Arizona, and Iowa.

A Utah Mellow Mushroom employee, upon hearing our call requesting a vegan menu item, called a vegan employee to the phone. She put us on hold several times during our conversation to check and double check for us as we repeated our question in several different ways asking specifically about egg and dairy. Finally she stated that dairy, but not egg, was in the Herb Veggie Burger.

An Arizona Mellow Mushroom manager stated just the opposite: the Herb Veggie Burger contained egg but not dairy.

The Iowa manager concurred with the Virginian and Arizonan stating that egg served as a binder in the Herb Veggie Burger. He also noted the automatic bun buttering; visitors needed to request that it be left off.

The Iowa manager volunteered additional information: all of the Mellow menu is “veganizable” except for four items:
• Herb Veggie Burger (egg)
• Pesto (animal rennet)
• Holy Shiitake Pie (butter)
• Stuffed Portobello Mushroom (butter)

Five of the six Mellow Mushroom restaurants which we contacted provided the same information about the Roasted Potatoes: They are prepared in the oven away from meat items. They are roasted with fresh olive oil and no butter. However, the Virginia manager told us that the potatoes were prepared with butter.
Given the variety of responses from these six Mellow Mushroom restaurants, The VRG called them again in June 2017.

Usually the host/hostess answered the phone. He or she would put us on hold; relay our question to the kitchen and/or general manager; and get back with a response. Our goal was to find unanimous agreement among all of the restaurants since we didn’t have an answer from the corporate office. Here is what we learned the second time around:

• The Maryland Mellow Mushroom told us that egg, but not dairy, was in the Herb Veggie Burger. Butter is automatically spread on its bun unless requested otherwise. There is no butter in the Roasted Potatoes.
• A Washington, DC Mellow Mushroom announced that the Herb Veggie Burger had just been taken off of the corporate menu and they had no more left in stock. No butter was used to prepare the Roasted Potatoes.
• A Virginia location of this chain stated that Herb Veggie Burgers had just been removed from the menu. There was no butter on the Roasted Potatoes.
• This time, the host at the Utah location stated that the Herb Veggie Burger had egg in it. He added that there was no butter on the Roasted Potatoes.
• No more Herb Veggie Burgers were available at an Arizona Mellow Mushroom location. The host also said that there was no butter on the Roasted Potatoes.
• An employee at an Iowa Mellow Mushroom told us that there was no egg nor dairy in the Herb Veggie Burger. Recalling what we had been previously told by the manager at that same location last month, we asked him to check into it again. He returned from a brief hold stating that egg served as a binder in the Herb Veggie Burger.

Thinking that we had collected all of the information needed in our second round of calls, we were surprised to hear next, upon asking in Iowa about the Roasted Potatoes, that a butter spray containing “natural butter flavor” and milk was used to coat the potatoes before they were roasted.

So we went back again and called the first five Mellow Mushroom restaurants to find out if they used a butter spray. This time we asked specifically about a butter spray (not just butter).

• The Maryland Mellow Mushroom hostess told us “no.” We asked her to check with her manager. She returned stating that she had checked with both the kitchen and general managers who concurred: no butter or butter spray.
• The Washington, DC Mellow Mushroom host put us on hold then initially told us that a butter spray was used on the potatoes. When we probed further to see if dairy were also in the butter spray, he transferred us to the manager. She stated that the spray had neither butter nor dairy; it contained only soy and canola oils.
• A Virginia Mellow Mushroom hostess told us that she would check with the kitchen and returned saying that butter spray was applied to the potatoes. Then we asked if dairy were in the spray. She said that she would check again and then she put the receiver down. After being disconnected, we called back and asked to speak to the manager. The person identified herself as the manager. We asked “Is there milk in the butter spray on the potatoes?” I heard her relay my question as “Is there milk in the potatoes?” She returned by saying “There’s no milk in the potatoes.” I repeated my initial question. I heard her correctly relay the question the second time. She came back on and said that there was milk in the butter spray used on the potatoes.
• In Utah, the host put us on hold and later said that there was not any butter spray used. When we indicated that other Mellow Mushroom restaurants do use a butter spray he called a kitchen employee over to the phone. The kitchen employee reiterated that there was no butter spray used on the potatoes.
• A hostess at a Mellow Mushroom in Arizona transferred our call to another employee. When I repeated my question about butter spray I heard him ask someone else in the restaurant: “Is there butter on the potatoes?” We corrected him and again he put us on hold. He returned saying butter (not butter spray) was used on the potatoes but a guest can request that it be left off.

Given the differences between the six Mellow Mushroom locations which we contacted, The Vegetarian Resource Group recommends that before ordering, diners ask to speak to the general and/or the kitchen manager about menu items in order to determine how they are prepared at a particular location. Ask to see a list of ingredients if possible.

Note: “natural butter flavor” may or may not be derived from dairy butter. You must contact the company which manufactured the product containing it to be sure. “Artificial butter flavor” is not derived from dairy butter.

Note: The allergen page at the corporate Mellow Mushroom website indicates that the Roasted Potatoes do not contain milk. http://www.nutritionix.com/mellow-mushroom/menu/special-diets/premium?allergens=milk 

The contents of this posting, our website, and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

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