How do you take your Subway sandwich? Do you enjoy a 6-inch Italian sub with grilled chicken? Do you prefer a foot-long Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki toasted with melted cheese?
A new study suggests that Subway restaurants' chicken meat contains only about 50 percent chicken DNA.
The Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) tested chicken from several fast food chains including Subway, McDonald's, Wendy's, A&W, and Tim Hortons, in collaboration with researchers at Trent University’s Wildlife Forensic DNA Laboratory.
Most restaurant scores landed in the 85 to 90 percent range for chicken DNA, except Subway.
Subway’s oven roasted chicken scored 53.6 percent, while their Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki strips scored even lower at 42.8 percent chicken DNA. This is compared to chicken that is purchased at a deli or grocery store – that should clock in at 100 percent chicken DNA. When meat is seasoned or marinated, the percentage is expected to drop slightly, but not significantly.
The other 50 percent of the "chicken" is actually soy, a common filler.
There are currently 1,474 Subway restaurants throughout the state of Florida. In 2010, the sandwich chain became the largest in the world, with 33,749 restaurants – 1,012 more than McDonald's.
Subway claims they use only 100 percent white meat chicken, but admit to using soy as a stabilizer.
The chain has already responded to the issue, in a statement that you can find here. They claim:
It used factually incorrect data to suggest the chicken SUBWAY serves might not be all chicken. The claims made in the story are false and misleading. We use only chicken – with added marinade, spices and seasoning. Producing high-quality food for our customers is our highest priority.
Our Oven Roasted Chicken and chicken strips are made from 100 percent all white meat chicken. The chicken is mixed with spices, seasoning and marinade then cooked and seared to perfection. When we add spices and seasoning to the marinade, we also add – in some regions – dried soy protein, like a spice. When the chicken and marinade are all mixed together, our chicken contains 1% or less of soy protein.
Subway restaurants originally responded to the CBC saying that they will look into the issue and question their supplier to ensure only the highest quality chicken is being used in their products.