Panera Bread has extended its ban on artificial ingredients to its soup, pasta, salad dressings and other food items sold at supermarkets across the country.

Sunset Hills-based Panera, which operates locally as St. Louis Bread Co., said Wednesday that by the end of this year, its nearly 50 Panera at Home grocery items sold at 12,000 retailers and online will no longer contain artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners, artificial preservatives and colors from artificial sources. Its grocery items include coffee, prepared meats, and bread.

Panera's 'No No' list of ingredients it's removing include glycerides and maltodextrin.

The ban on artificial additives for items sold at grocery stores follows Panera's announcement in May 2015 that it was banishing more than 150 artificial preservatives, sweeteners, colors and flavors from the food it sells at its bakery-cafes by the end of 2016.

Panera soup and salad dressings sold at grocers are refrigerated to extend shelf life, and some natural preservatives including rosemary extract are used, the company said, adding market share of Panera's soup sold at grocers has grown to nearly 35 percent.

Panera at Home sales totaled $150 million last year and company executives previously said they expect the business to ultimately reach $1 billion in sales.

"We want to give our customers new ways to prepare food that is both good and good for them," Panera at Home's senior vice president Stephanie Crimmins said in a statement.

Panera operated 1,997 bakery-cafes as of March 29.

Lisa Brown • 314-340-8127

@lisabrownstl on Twitter

lbrown@post-dispatch.com

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