Dunkin’ Donuts has agreed to phase out the use of titanium dioxide, a controversial whitening agent used in powdered sugar, bowing to pressure from an activist consumer group.
The move was announced Thursday by Oakland, Calif.-based advocacy group As You Sow, which had submitted a shareholder request asking Dunkin’ Donuts parent Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. to assess and reduce the use of nanomaterials like titanium dioxide.
Upon Dunkin’s announcement, As You Sow withdrew the shareholder proposal, which had received support from 18.7 percent of shareholders at the Canton, Mass.-based company’s annual shareholder meeting in 2014.
“This is a groundbreaking decision,” said Danielle Fugere, president and chief counsel of As You Sow. “Dunkin’ has demonstrated strong industry leadership by removing this potentially harmful ingredient from its doughnuts.”
Nanomaterials are substances engineered to have extremely small dimensions — so small that some say they could be toxic to humans, potentially causing DNA and chromosomal damage, organ damage, inflammation, brain damage and genital malformations, among other problems, according to As You Sow.
The group contends that the Food and Drug Administration does not regulate nanomaterials, arguing that it is not aware of any food ingredient on the nanometer scale for which there is available data to determine its use as Generally Regarded As Safe, or GRAS.
As You Sow cited asbestos as an example of a nanomaterial that was widely used in construction materials before serious health implications were determined. It was later banned.
In a statement, Dunkin’ Brands chief communications officer Karen Raskopf indicated that the company disagrees with As You Sow’s definition of nanoparticles, but that Dunkin’ Donuts would stop using titanium dioxide.
“The ingredient used in our powdered doughnuts does not meet the definition of ‘nanoparticle’ as outlined under FDA guidance,” Raskopf said. “Nevertheless, we began testing alternative formulations for this product in 2014, and we are in the process of rolling out a solution to the system that does not contain titanium dioxide.”
Pressure on Dunkin’ Brands to remove the whitening agent began in 2013, after As You Sow commissioned laboratory tests that found titanium dioxide nanomaterials in Dunkin’ Donuts Powdered Cake Donuts.
The group contends that a growing number of food and restaurant companies have said they are interested in using various nanoparticles, which can be used to make products creamier without adding fat, and to improve colors and flavors.
“Engineered nanomaterials are beginning to enter the food supply, despite not being proven safe for consumption,” Fugere said. “Dunkin’ has made a decision to protect its customers and its bottom line by avoiding use of an unproven and potentially harmful ingredient.”
The announcement is yet another example of growing consumer demand for more transparency about food and ingredients.
Dunkin’s decision follows McDonald’s Corp.’s announcement this week that it will stop selling chicken treated with antibiotics, and will offer milk from cows that are not treated with the artificial growth hormone rBST.
Last year, Subway bowed to consumer pressure to remove a controversial chemical called azodicarbonamide, also used in yoga mats, from its bread.
And a growing number of states are considering legislation that would require food made with genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, to be labeled. Chipotle Mexican Grill is phasing out the use of GMOs across its menu.
In each of these cases, the potential harm caused by such substances remains unclear. Rather than dispute the claims, restaurant operators are sending a message that consumers are being heard.
On the rBST issue in milk, Marion Gross, senior vice president of McDonald’s North America Supply Chain, said, “While no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rBST-treated and non-rBST-treated cows, we understand this is something that’s important to our customers.”
Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].
Follow her on Twitter: @livetodineout