February 6/Columbus, Ga./WTVM -- Subway reported it had been using some "fresh" chemicals to bake its bread, chemicals that have been outlawed in Europe and Australia. While it is not illegal to use them to make food in the U.S., some consumers wondered why Subway would want a questionable substance to be part of their product.

In response to a consumer petition, Subway is voluntarily removing the substance, known as azodicarbonamide, from its recipes as part of what it is calling a "bread improvement effort" and the complete conversion will be done "soon."

Claims about the chemical's link to respiratory problems and cancer in humans has not been explicitly proven, so the USDA and FDA are okay with the food grade version of the foamed plastic additive getting added to a sandwich.

However, governments in other countries are not taking any chances. After these changes are made, Subway sandwiches in the U.S. will match their counterparts