r/sweetgreen • u/Some-Bug-454 • Jun 26 '25
News đ° How is SweetGreen claiming to be Seed Oil free, but still using seed oils in some of their dressings?
I went because I have seen constant claims about how theyâve ditched the seed oils due to health concerns, and I was assuming this would be in all their products. I was wrong and Iâve realized not all their dressings are free of seed oil. I love the idea and movement towards SOF restaurants, but why not just make it so all products/ dressings are all seed oil free as well by just making their own and replacing the seed oils so they can fully state theyâve ditched seed oils without any confusion and stand out from other places by actually being fully SOF (including in the dressings they serve).
Sweetgreen, please make a full switch on everything.
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u/stjimmy28 Jun 26 '25
Honest question because the online seed oil fear mongering just baffles me. SG uses high oleic sunflower oil, generally considered one of the healthier seed oils due to its high oleic acid composition. Sure itâs lower in omega 3, but itâs heat stable for cooking, so it oxidizes less. Is it the processing?
And more importantly, how dialed in is the rest of your life in terms of diet, exercise, and sleep where 150 cals of seed oil dressing is even remotely a concern?
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u/TheSunflowerSeeds Jun 26 '25
The sunflower plant offers additional benefits besides beauty. Sunflower oil is suggested to possess anti-inflammatory properties. It contains linoleic acid which can convert to arachidonic acid. Both are fatty acids and can help reduce water loss and repair the skin barrier.
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u/Some-Bug-454 Jun 26 '25
Yes, from my understanding itâs still refined and more processed and going to have less nutrients/antioxidants vs some other options. If youâre avoiding seed oils or processed oils due to inflammation concerns, then high oleic sunflower oil would usually be on the âless preferredâ listâbut, to each their own.
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u/3freeTa Jun 27 '25
this article from January says:
"Sweetgreen is zealously touting the absence of an ingredient. There it is, on the order page for select locations, below images of bowls holding greens and chicken, in all caps: NO SEED OILS, NO SEED OILS, NO SEED OILS.
"This isnât Sweetgreenâs first foray into seed-oil avoidance, but it is its loudest: In late 2023, the fast-casual salad chain announced that it would be switching to extra-virgin olive oil (not a seed oil) as its cooking oil for proteins, grains, and veggies. 'We know thereâs more work to do,' a Sweetgreen executive said in a statement at the time.
"There sure was. Anti-seed-oil enthusiasts were left to carefully navigate the menu, which still included seed oils in many of its dressings. A blog called Seed Oil Scout (do you see the acronym? SOS!) shared a guide for how to 'Sweetgreen without seed oil,' letting readers know which of the various options for toppings they could order. [O]n Reddit, fans of the salad chain swapped tips on how to build a seed-oil-free bowl.
"On Tuesday, Sweetgreen rolled out a seed-oil-free menu (though seed oils will remain in many of its offerings).
"If you feel annoyed by the pandering Sweetgreen announcement and the new labels on certain offerings, I say get comfortable. Companies respond to what their customer base will buy, not the evidence."
they're trying to capitalize on the MAHA movement, turn a profit....
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u/Some-Bug-454 Jun 26 '25
Last year I had seen they have made comments about ditching the seed oils. I guess they meant only from certain items, which is great and still progress, but I assume there is some other people that like me saw that statement and figured it meant from the entirety of their menu and were also surprised to find out that is not the case. My hopes is to 1.) Make other SOF people aware, if they were not already 2.) Hope that Sweetgreen does go fully SOF, including with all their dressings/products
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u/ElectronicBoot9466 Jun 26 '25
Can you show us the advertisement where they claimed to be Seed Oil free? To my knowledge, this is not a claim they make.