The Subway Tuna Sandwich Mystery

The tuna sandwich has never been my favorite at Subway. But I was a fan of a sandwich that most no longer serve, and that was the seafood sub. Sure, I knew that the crab meat was imitation crab. Probably the same kind you can pick up at most grocery stores. I knew this going in. I understood that Subway wasn't going to pay for real crab meat and then only charge me five dollars for a foot long. But when people order a tuna sub, they believe they're getting tuna. But are they?

A recent lab test commissioned by the New York Times failed to identify any tuna DNA in a Subway tuna sandwich. A reporter from the Times sent in around 60 inches worth of tuna from three Los Angeles area Subway restaurants. They were sent to a special fish-testing lab. That lab was unable to pinpoint a species of fish. A lab spokesperson told the Times they had two conclusions. One, the meat was so heavily processed that they couldn't tell what it was. And two, there was nothing in the meat that was tuna. Yikes.

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How has Subway responded? The continue to defend their tuna. The Guardian reports that earlier this year, the restaurant claimed on their website that their tuna was "100% real wild caught tuna." Others have pointed out that tuna is already a cheap meat to buy, and questioned why Subway would need to save money on buying something that wasn't real. And some experts say if it isn't tuna, Subway may not even be at fault. They say if there is fraud, it can be traced back to the cannery.