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Lawsuit Argues Subway’s Tuna Isn’t Really Tuna


— January 28, 2021

A lawsuit was filed earlier this week alleging the tuna salad blend used in Subway sandwiches isn’t actually tuna.


If you’re thinking about ordering a tuna salad sandwich or wrap from Subway, you may want to reconsider. According to a lawsuit filed against the fast-food chain, the tuna salad blend doesn’t actually contain any actual fish. In fact, what Subway claims tuna is actually a “mixture of various concoctions that…imitate the appearance of tuna.”

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Legal gavel; image courtesy of succo via Pixabay, www.pixabay.com

The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by two women, Karen Dhanowa and Nilima Amin. The suit argues Amin and Dhanowa “were tricked into buying food items that wholly lacked the ingredients they reasonably thought they were purchasing, based on its labeling.” The suit further states:

“Consumers are consistently misled into purchasing the products for the commonly known and/or advertised benefits and characteristics of tuna when in fact no such benefits could be had, given that the products are in fact devoid of tuna.”

Dhanowa and Amin are being represented by Alex Brown, an attorney with Lanier Law Firm. Brown noted they’re trying to find out what ingredients are actually used in Subway’s tuna. He said, “We are conducting tests to figure out what it is. The lab tests thus far have only told us what it isn’t.”

When responding to the allegations, Maggie Truax, a spokesperson for Subway pushed back and said:

“There simply is no truth to the allegations in the complaint that was filed in California…Subway delivers 100% cooked tuna to its restaurants, which is mixed with mayonnaise and used in freshly made sandwiches, wraps, and salads that are served to and enjoyed by our guests.”

On the company’s website, it claims the tuna salad is “made with flaked tuna in brine, mayonnaise, and a flavor-protecting additive.” Truax said:

”Unfortunately, this lawsuit is part of a trend in which the named plaintiffs’ attorneys have been targeting the food industry in an effort to make a name for themselves in that space.”

If the suit is allowed to be certified as a class-action lawsuit, it could end up representing thousands of Subway customers who purchased tuna wraps or sandwiched after January 21, 2017, in California. It could end up affecting 2,266 location.

This isn’t the first time Subway has come under fire over its products. Back in September, Ireland’s Supreme Court ruled that the fast-food chain’s bread “could not legally be called bread because of its high sugar content.” Then, in 2017, “an appeals court threw out a class-action settlement over claims the chain’s footlong subs were an inch shy of the length advertised.”

Sources:

No tuna in Subway’s tuna sandwiches and wraps, lawsuit claims

Lawsuit claims Subway’s tuna sandwiches contain no tuna

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