{"id":11329,"date":"2017-08-25T09:10:42","date_gmt":"2017-08-25T13:10:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=11329"},"modified":"2017-08-09T13:04:25","modified_gmt":"2017-08-09T17:04:25","slug":"papa-johns-enzymes-2017-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2017\/08\/25\/papa-johns-enzymes-2017-update\/","title":{"rendered":"Papa John’s\u00ae Enzymes: 2017 Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Papa<\/a><\/p>\n

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS<\/p>\n

An email forwarded to The VRG in August 2017 from online reader Ben had been delivered to his inbox from a \u201cNutrition Analyst\u201d at Papa John’s in response to his Papa John’s online inquiry.<\/p>\n

This is how Ben introduced the following Papa John’s information to us:<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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.\u201d <\/p>\n

Here in its entirety is the forwarded email from Papa John’s addressed to Ben in response to his \u201c…inquiring whether or not their Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks were vegetarian (lacto-ovo).\u201d Papa John’s responded to Ben within 12 hours of his inquiry.<\/p>\n

Papa John’s email:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of our products contain bio-synthesized and\/or vegetable-derived enzymes, including our mozzarella cheese.<\/p>\n

However, the cheese blend used on our Tuscan Six Cheese Pizza does contain animal-derived enzymes.<\/p>\n

Our pizza dough contains fungal or bacterial derivatives.<\/p>\n

Our garlic sauce contains lactic acid, which is not classified as an animal derivative because it has been fermented.<\/p>\n

Blue cheese and ranch DO contain animal-derived rennet.<\/p>\n

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.\u201d <\/p>\n

The VRG appreciates Ben taking the time to forward this email.<\/p>\n

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.
\nhttp:\/\/www.papajohns.com\/company\/papa-johns-ingredients.html#pizza<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.papajohns.com\/allergens\/papa-johns-allergen-guide.html<\/a><\/p>\n

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.)<\/p>\n

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). <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

See our previous reports on cheese enzymes and sugar for more information:
\nhttp:\/\/www.vrg.org\/journal\/vj2008issue3\/2008_issue3_update_renet.php<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.vrg.org\/journal\/vj2007issue4\/2007_issue4_sugar.php<\/a><\/p>\n

Here are a couple of our past reports on Papa John’s:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2014\/03\/12\/update-on-papa-johns-vegetarian-and-vegan-menu-options\/<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2014\/04\/07\/papa-johns-dough-enzyme-stearic-acid-and-cookie-ingredients-are-vegetarian\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

For additional information about quick service chains, see:
\nhttp:\/\/www.vrg.org\/fastfoodinfo.php<\/a><\/p>\n

For information about vegetarian and vegan restaurants and where you might be able to order vegan pizza, see:
\nhttp:\/\/www.vrg.org\/restaurant\/index.php<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 \u201cNutrition Analyst\u201d 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: \u201cI am a lacto-ovo vegetarian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11329"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11334,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11329\/revisions\/11334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}