Almost every week, now, we’re hearing about another big packaged food maker eliminating all artifi-cial colours, flavours and/or preservatives from its line. This week, it’s Sara Lee. A much-needed vict-ory for US Health Mandarin RFK Jr…
It may be the most famous snack cake jingle ever: ‘Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee’. And the darned thing gets stuck in your head for hours once you’ve been exposed to it. Just like any good jingle should…
A bakery pioneer
Sara Lee brand prepared cakes and other baked goodies have been a part of North American’s lives since 1956, when a small regional chain of bakeries owned by Charlie Lubin was acquired by Contin-ental Foods, which took his recipes US-wide.
“Sara Lee was 8 years old when Charlie Lubin, a bakery entrepreneur, decided to name his new line of cheesecakes after his daughter, Sara Lee. His company was purchased in 1956 by Consolidated Foods, where Mr. Lubin continued to serve as a senior executive for many years,” the Sara Lee ‘About Us’ web page records. “In 1985, Consolidated Foods changed its name to Sara Lee Corporation. Over the years, Sara Lee has appeared [personally] in various television advertisements for our bakery products. In her words, her father told her the product ‘had to be perfect because he was naming it after me’.”
Awww… I’m a sucker for a sweet story – and that’s no pun!
But I digress…
Today’s post is about Sara Lee’s pledge to answer US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kenney Jr’s call for UPF makers to remove all artificial colours, flavours and additives from their pro-ducts.
International bakery giant Grupo Bimbo (GB) says all 5 of its major US brands, including Sara Lee, will be free of artificial pre-servatives, colours and favours by the end of 2028.
That’s a simple statement to make, hut it can prove much harder to follow through on. Witness the recent admission by M&Ms that it can’t – within the bounds of economic and technological reason – keep making brown and blue classic chocolate and peanut candies. But Bimbo has apparently solved any problems it faced in making good on its promise.
Starting now…
GB says, “all of Bimbo Bakeries USA’s daily consumption products, such as breads, buns and rolls, are [now] completely free from artificial colors and flavors.” And, “The company will complete the final phase of artificial color removal in occasional-consumption products such as sweet baked goods and snacks,” by the end of this year.
“Artesano breads and buns, Oroweat breads and buns, and The Rustik Oven products,” will follow by the end of 2027. And, “Sara Lee, Oroweat specialty varieties, Little Bites, and Thomas’ will complete the removal of artificial preservatives and emulsifiers,” by the end of 2028.
My take
I’ll admit, I don’t buy prepared – much less frozen – baked goods much. I make my own. But when I do, I’ll admit I have a soft spot for Sara Lee. Sara Lee New York Style Cheese Cake was the first store-bought ‘cake’ I ever tasted. And it was love at first bite! I suppose that’s why I harbour such nostalgia for the brand…
~ Maggie J.