MILFORD, Conn. (WWLP) – Subway restaurants say that a report claiming that the chicken in their sandwiches is not 100% real chicken, is false, and they have the evidence to prove it.
In a news release, the company took issue with the report done by the Canadian TV show CBC Marketplace. Researchers hired by the program said that their test found samples of oven-roasted chicken only contained 53.6% of chicken DNA, and chicken strips contained only 42.8%. The majority of the remaining DNA was that of soy protein.
Subway strongly disputes these results. Company spokesperson Kevin Kane said in the release that the “alleged test results” shown on the program are “false and misleading.” Kane says Subway contacted the program and the researchers to find out their methodology, but they refused to share it with them.
Further, Kane says Subway sent samples of the same Canadian chicken products to labs in both Canada and Florida, both of which found soy protein levels of less than 1% in the samples.
“These findings are consistent with the low levels of soy protein that we add with the spices and marinade to keep the products moist and flavorful,” Kane said.
“Our chicken is 100% white meat with seasonings, marinated, cooked, and delivered to our restaurants,” Subway Chief of Food Safety and Quality Dave Theno said. “The chicken has no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. Through years of testing, we’ve never seen results like the program claimed.”
“The stunningly flawed test by Marketplace is a tremendous disservice to our customers,” Subway President and CEO Suzanne Greco said. “The safety, quality, and integrity of our food is the foundation of our business. That’s why we took extra caution to test and retest the chicken. Our customers can have confidence in our food. The allegation that our chicken is only 50% chicken is 100% wrong.”
The testing for Marketplace was conducted by Trent University’s Wildlife Forensic DNA Laboratory. Subway used Maxxam Analytics and Elisa Technologies, Inc. for their testing.
