Yum! Brands restaurants - KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell
Yum! Brands' three key business units are KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

LOUISVILLE, KY. — Yum! Brands, Inc. and its three key business units — KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell — continued on its path to serve “delicious and nutritious” food with nearly all of its markets reaching the company’s 2015 goal of having 15% of meal options meet one-third of the Recommended Daily Allowance (R.D.A.), according to the company’s 2015 Corporate Social Responsibility report issued April 19.

In the area of nutrition, Yum! Brands has committed to “be the preferred restaurant of choice for consumers seeking a delicious, balanced option by offering more choice, more transparency and nutritional improvements to our ingredients.”

During 2015, the company noted in the report that nearly all its markets met its 2015 goal of having 15% of meal options meet one-third of the R.D.A. in every country in which it operates. Now, Yum! Brands said it has set a goal of 20% of meal options by 2020.

Pizza Hut pizza with less salt and no artificial ingredients
Pizza Hut has removed artificial colors and flavors from nationally available pizzas and Wingstreet products.

At Pizza Hut, Yum! Brands was able to remove more than a half a million lbs of salt from its menu in 2012, and in 2015 the pizza chain removed another 1.5 million lbs. Pizza Hut also removed artificial colors and flavors from nationally available pizzas and Wingstreet products. Pizza Hut restaurants in the United States during 2015 began to provide nutrition, allergen and ingredient information in more accessible formats. Pizza Hut now offers three nutrition tools via web and mobile platforms that allow consumers to obtain specific nutrition, ingredient and allergen information for all menu items, including customized pizzas.

Meanwhile, at Taco Bell Yum! Brands committed to simple ingredients. The company said it would remove artificial colors and flavors from its food by the end of 2015 and last year became the first quick-service restaurant to offer menu items certified by the American Vegetarian Association (A.V.A.). Taco Bell now offers 13 A.V.A.-certified menu items and a number of individual certified ingredients that may be customized in numerous ways.

Yum! Brands in the report indicated it has set a goal over the next two years to phase out palm oil wherever feasible. Currently, nearly 70% of the company’s global restaurants do not use palm oil as their cooking oil, Yum! Brands said.

Taco Bell vegetarian burritos
Taco Bell now offers 13 A.V.A.-certified menu items and a number of individual certified ingredients that may be customized in numerous ways.

Along with nutrition goals, Yum! Brands said it has committed to ethical sourcing and supply. All of the company’s brands have committed to minimizing the use of antibiotics important to human medicine in poultry, with Taco Bell announcing on April 19 that it will do so completely by the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2017. Also by the end of 2017, Taco Bell said it will phase out all artificial trans fat from the menu. Taco Bell also has said it will source 100% cage-free eggs for its breakfast menu in all U.S. restaurants by the end of 2016.

For the full report, click here