MIAMI – Burger King, a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International, Inc. (RBI), has announced its signature Whopper sandwiches across all markets in the United States will now contain no colors, flavors or preservatives from artificial sources. The milestone represents one of many substantial changes the restaurant chain has made to promote real food and high-quality ingredients to customers, Burger King said. In the United States, 85% of the Burger King permanent food menu is now free of artificial colors, flavors and preservatives, and the brand’s goal is to achieve 100% by the beginning of next year.

“We put a lot of effort into the Whopper to make it taste great and the real Whopper free of colors, flavors and preservatives from artificial sources has the same iconic flame-grilled flavor that guests know and love,” said Chris Finazzo, president of Americas for Burger King. “This announcement further highlights our commitment to serve delicious, affordable meals our guests can feel good about.”

To date, Burger King has removed around 8,500 tons of artificial ingredients from its food globally. Earlier this year, Burger King removed all preservatives, colors and flavors from artificial sources from the Whopper sandwich in several European countries and select markets in the United States. The brand continues to push ahead with the launch of the reformulated Whopper across all the United States and is expanding use of real ingredients to Canada, Indonesia and other global markets.

“We know that real food tastes better and are working hard to remove all preservatives, colors and flavors from artificial sources from the burgers and food we serve in all countries around the world,” said Fernando Machado, global chief marketing officer for RBI. “Through our Restaurant Brands for Good framework we are committed to doing the right thing and continuously improving the quality of our food.”

For a limited time, Burger King will highlight the real ingredients in its Whopper by placing the recipe front and center on every sandwich wrapper.