Taco Bell Says It’s Ditching Extra-Large Sodas, Will Cut Down On Preservatives “Where Possible”

Let’s be honest: Most of us gave up on the idea of new year’s resolutions a long time ago, and few people who make resolutions stick to them. However, that didn’t stop the folks at Taco Bell from rolling out a list of “commitments” for the future of the fast food chain.

Top on the Taco Bell list is the decision to get rid of extra large (“XL”) soda cups in 2017. This appears to be a concession to concerns about the connection between sugary drinks and obesity, but cynics might point out that this is a bit disingenuous, given that Taco Bell also sells $5 meals that contain about a full day’s worth of calories for most adults.

Keeping with this dubious commitment to healthier products, the Bell says it will also remove preservatives and other additives from its food by 2018, but only “where possible.” We’ll revisit that promise in a year to see what, if any, impact this has on the menu.

Some of these new year’s commitments had already been announced, like the company’s decision to phase out medically important antibiotics in the chickens it sources by the end of the first quarter of 2017.

While that promise was enough to earn Taco Bell a barely passing “C-” grade on this recent antibiotics policy report card (an improvement from its previous “F” grade), the lack of detail in the pledge and the fact that it appears to only apply to a small number of antibiotics has some critics questioning the company’s commitment.