Tuna is the only seafood sandwich that is on the Subway restaurants' menu worldwide. Subway only sells skipjack and yellowfin tuna. It is sourced from fisheries with non-threatened stock levels.
According to Subway, the tuna salad for the chain's sandwiches is made with flaked tuna in brine, mayonnaise, and an additive to "protect flavor."
Basically, The usual is about 3 ounces of meat. The BMT has the most meat. And the most calories from fat, probably, pushing the Tuna as the most.
Questions on Tuna Subway Sandwiches
The New York Times didn't randomly decide to test Subway's tuna sandwiches for their true tuna virtue. In January, The Washington Post reported on a lawsuit against the chain that claimed that whatever was in the sandwiches was actually "made from anything but tuna."
This isn't the first time someone has questioned what's in Subway's food. In 2014, Subway took fire for including in its bread a chemical called azodicarbonamide, which is also used in yoga mats. The company phased out the chemical.
After a damning class action lawsuit and several lab tests, questions about the authenticity of Subway's tuna continue to swirl throughout the media and food industry. Do Subway's tuna sandwiches actually contain tuna?
Is Subway potentially deceiving customers by serving them mystery fish instead of the yellowfin and skipjack tuna varieties as described on its website?
Another study on the same, initiated by Inside Edition, found traces of tuna DNA. Additionally, the Seafood List says there are 15 types of tuna but the New York Times tested only for five via PCR test.
Lawsuit Against Subway
A lawsuit filed in January 2021 against the sandwich chain by customers in California alleges deception. In a lab analysis of the chain's tuna commissioned by the plaintiffs, no actual tuna DNA was apparently found.
The attorney for the plaintiffs told The Washington Post that "the ingredients were not tuna and not fish," but declined to clarify what ingredients had actually been present in the sandwich chain's serving.
Most recently, The New York Times ordered a similar DNA test on tuna sampled from Subway locations in Los Angeles. The conclusion? While no tuna DNA was found in the lab test, deception by Subway was only one possible scenario.
Another explanation, according to the report published last week, may be that Subway's tuna is simply too processed to turn up any DNA in lab tests.
Subway's Statement on the Whole Scenario
In last week's statement to FOX Television Stations, Subway said:
"A recent New York Times report indicates that DNA testing is an unreliable methodology for identifying processed tuna. This report supports and reflects the position that Subway has taken in relation to a meritless lawsuit filed in California and with respect to DNA testing as a means to identify cooked proteins.
DNA testing is simply not a reliable way to identify denatured proteins, like Subway's tuna, which was cooked before it was tested."
What Did the Lab Find?
A commercial food testing lab analyzed more than 60 inches of Subway tuna sandwiches from three different Subway locations in Los Angeles. It found that "no amplifiable tuna DNA was present in the sample."
The lab also said this could mean one of two things: Either there's no tuna in the sandwiches, or whatever tuna is being used is so overly processed the lab couldn't make an identification.
The report also noted, though, that this isn't the only DNA test that's been done. Inside Edition sent samples to a lab as well, back in February and did find tuna present in the samples tested.
Subway Takes Its Stand
"The fact is Subway restaurants serve 100% wild-caught, cooked tuna, which is mixed with mayonnaise and used in freshly made sandwiches, wraps, and salads that are served to and enjoyed by our guests," the company said in a statement.
Subway also noted that the plaintiffs in the lawsuit have backed off the claim somewhat: "Even the plaintiffs have softened their original claims".
In a new filing from June, their complaints centered not on whether Subway's tuna was tuna at all, but whether it was '100% sustainably caught skipjack and yellowfin tuna,' the statement read.
In addition, the company took issue with the idea of DNA testing. "DNA testing is simply not a reliable way to identify denatured proteins, like Subway's tuna, which was cooked before it was tested," the statement said.
Experts Point of View
Jana Brand's U.S. import records dating from 2019 under the label "Subway" show that the company imported tuna flakes for the chain. The tuna species for the product is identified as skipjack—exactly as the sandwich chain claims.
But the quality of the chain's product likely has less to do with the actual species of tuna and more to do with the parts of the fish that are used.
"It comes down to processing and manufacturing and how these products are handled," says Sean Wittenberg, cofounder of Safe Catch, a seafood company disrupting the industry with high standards of mercury testing on tuna.
Wittenberg believes that Subway uses 100% byproduct of twice-cooked tuna called the "flake," aka cheap trimmings that come off of the loin of the fish. In fact, the different quality categories of commercially canned tuna are designated based on how much of this byproduct versus actual chunks of tuna they contain.
Written By - Bhagyadeep Jena
Edited By - Gunika Manchanda
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