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With a tagline like “Eat Fresh,” customers should not have to question whether or not the tuna in their sandwich is authentic. This would be less than ideal any moment, but especially in the current pandemic-ridden time, where health and cleanliness remain at the forefront of our minds, standards regarding our food must be high and sourcing must reflect our public desires.
Unfortunately, these standards were speculated not to have been met by Subway; the company found itself in hot water, defending itself in a lawsuit. In an attempt to alleviate public uncertainty surrounding the fish, The New York Times recently investigated Subway’s suspicious tuna. Through the report, disturbing and astonishing results were published.
After battling the aforementioned lawsuit, in which Subway claimed that it had only purchased yellowfin and skipjack tuna from sustainable fisheries, the truth was finally unveiled. Samples of “tuna” were collected from three Los Angeles Subway establishments, and sent to a lab to be tested. Results found that there was no discernible tuna DNA identified. The species was completely unknown, likely for one of two reasons: either Subway’s “tuna” contained no actual tuna, or the fish had been processed so heavily that its original structure could no longer be discerned.
Though these results were appalling and unfavorable for the reputation of the large chain company, the fight to identify and clear the contents of Subway’s tuna continues. Inside Edition investigated and reported on Subway’s sandwich tuna, determining that it was indeed tuna, yet all of this speculation and confusion has left the general public, and the US District Court for the Northern District of California unsatisfied. Subway continues to fight the lawsuit which claims that its labeled “tuna” is an unspecified material, and Subway argues that their standards are high, their fish is fresh and real, and therefore, their company should not face these “meritless claims.” Tuna or not, this lawsuit has us wondering, how fresh are we to expect when we “eat fresh?”
