Locale's Banned Ingredients

At Locale, we have put hundreds of hours into researching the ingredients that go into our meals, making sure that everything we put into our food was optimized for your performance today and health tomorrow.

Over time, we developed a list of banned ingredients, or ingredients that we would never use in our food. This list is expanded over time with the most up to date research on health and nutrition.

The list currently runs to more than 60 ingredients and practices. It is applied to every meal on the menu, and it is the reason some otherwise-popular ingredients never appear.

Last updated: August 2026

Banned Artificial Sweeteners & Sugar Substitutes

• Acesulfame-K (acesulfame potassium)

• Aspartame

• Cyclamates

• Saccharin

• Sucralose

• High fructose corn syrup

• Refined white sugar

• Refined cane sugar

• Refined beet sugar

• Brown sugar (conventional refined)

• Corn syrup solids

• Dextrose (refined, added sugar)

• Maltodextrin

• Sugar alcohols (sorbitol, xylitol, erythritol, maltitol, mannitol)

• Titanium dioxide (TiO₂)

Banned Artificial Colors & Dyes

• Artificial colors (general)

• Certified colors

• Carmine

• FD & C (synthetic) coloring agents

• Red 40

• Yellow 5

• Yellow 6

• Blue 1

• Blue 2

• Green 3

• Any other synthetic food dyes

• Aluminum lake dyes (lake forms of FD&C colors)

Banned Artificial Flavors & Flavor Enhancers

• Artificial flavors

• Ethyl vanillin (synthetic)

• Vanillin (when not naturally derived)

• Disodium inosinate (IMP)

• Disodium guanylate (GMP)

• Disodium inosinate + guanylate (I+G blends, MSG boosters)

• Sodium glutamate (MSG)

• Nitrates and Nitrites

Banned Artificial Preservatives

• Benzoates in food

• Benzoyl peroxide

• BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole)

• BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene)

• Calcium disodium EDTA

• Disodium calcium EDTA

• Disodium dihydrogen EDTA

• EDTA (general)

• Tetrasodium EDTA

• Sodium benzoate

• Potassium benzoate

• Sodium propionate

• Calcium propionate

• Potassium sorbate

• Calcium sorbate

• Propyl gallate

• Sorbic acid

• TBHQ (tertiary butylhydroquinone)

• Ethoxyquin

• Propylparaben

• Methylparaben

• Natamycin

Banned Industrial Bread Improvers & Dough Conditioners

• Acetylated esters of mono- and diglycerides

• Azodicarbonamide

• Cysteine (l-cysteine, additive for bread)

• DATEM (Diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides)

• Lactylated esters of mono- and diglycerides

• Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate

• Calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate

• Caprocaprylobehenin

• Hexa-, hepta-, and octa-esters of sucrose

• Sucroglycerides

Banned Processed Fats & Oils

• Hydrogenated fats

• Partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs, trans fats)

• Brominated vegetable oil (BVO)

• Bromated flour

• Bleached flour

• Calcium bromate

• Potassium bromate

• Solvent-extracted oils

• Canola oil

• Soybean oil

• Corn oil

• Cottonseed oil

• Sunflower oil 

• Safflower oil

• Vegetable oil blends (non-avocado/olive)

• Palm & palm kernel oil

Banned Other Additives, Stabilizers, and Fillers

• Ammonium chloride

• Dimethylpolysiloxane

• Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (DSS)

• Methyl silicon

• Microparticularized whey protein fat substitute

• Polydextrose

• Sucrose polyester (olestra)

• Sodium diacetate

• Magnesium stearate & stearic acid salts

• Xanthan Gum

Banned Animal & Farming Practices

• Hormones (growth hormones in dairy/meat) including rBST / rBGH

• Antibiotics (used in conventional livestock)

Banned Agricultural & Environmental Practices

• Synthetic pesticides (produce must be organic/pesticide-free)

• Ethylene oxide (fumigant)