A viral Panera Bread TikTok claims to show the chain’s ‘frozen’ food

Panera Bread lovers are not happy with a new viral TikTok.

The video, allegedly shot by an employee at the chain, seems to show footage from the kitchen of one of its restaurants. In the clip, the alleged employee appears to show countless containers of frozen food — including mac and cheese, chicken and several soups.

“Truth about Panera,” the clip’s caption reads.

Panera Bread customers promptly freaked out about the TikTok, as many shocked by the claim that some of the chain’s food isn’t actually “fresh.”

The original video has since been deleted, but some TikTokers have re-uploaded new versions to their own accounts.

@mr.tiktok820

@jadekirstenkellar5 if you want this deleted that’s fine

♬ original sound – MrTikTok

This isn’t the first time an employee has made claims about Panera’s food, either.

In 2019, an alleged former employee claimed she was fired from the chain after “exposing” how it makes its mac and cheese. That employee’s video showed similar bags of what looked like frozen meals.

Earlier in 2020, another former employee made a list of the five things customers should “never” order from the restaurant. That reveal, also posted to TikTok, made claims about Panera’s mac and cheese, bread and more.

Each of these cases have sparked outrage from Panera customers. Ultimately though, the revelation that some food isn’t completely “fresh” isn’t anything new.

As Mashable reported in 2019, former Panera employees have been making similar claims for years. Whether it’s Reddit posts, viral Tweets or TikTok videos, the chain has a long history of “reveals” about its menu items.

Panera isn’t alone, of course. Several TikTok users have gone viral in recent months for filming videos that allegedly exposed the process behind fan-favorite menu items. These days, you can find TikToks for McDonald’s McNuggets, Taco Bell Cinnamon Twists and even Chick-fil-A’s lemonade.

If you liked this story, check out this article on Taco Bell’s new viral giveaway.

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