Why the World Is Up in Arms About Panera Bread’s Mac n’ Cheese

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 24 hours, then you know Panera Bread has dipped its toes in a little bit of a scandal (but luckily not the food). A TikTok user and now ex-Panera employee has exposed the soup and salad chain in a video that reveals how Panera really cooks its infamous creamy mac n’ cheese––and let’s just say people aren’t thrilled about it. But according to CNN, should we be that surprised that the cheesy pasta dish comes frozen?

A Panera spokesperson told CNN that “the meals are shipped frozen so they can leave out certain preservatives that don’t meet the company’s clean standards.” Panera’s mac n’ cheese is supposedly made off-site by the quick service restaurant’s chefs using only sourced ingredients that meet its clean menu standards, the article stated.

While TikTok user and former Panera employee Brianna Ramirez did lose her job for posting a video of her heating up a frozen plastic bag of Panera’s mac n’ cheese and pouring it into a bowl, she didn’t seem to be too upset in a recent Tweet.

“There was no wrongful termination,” said Ramirez in a tweet. “Having such long nails and my phone out is a risk to food safety and health regulations. Everything was completely justified. I made a mistake and I’ve learned from it. I will always love Panera and their food.”

But others aren’t too thrilled with how Panera preps its mac n’ cheese dishes.

“Perhaps one of the most important pieces of information Panera fails to tell customers ordering its mac n’ cheese is they are adding to the mountains of single-use plastic discarded into our land and water,” said Twitter user @TDSskip. “#Sad.”