Is Subway Bread Actually Bread? Exploring The Controversy

Article By Ethan Jacobs

It’s hard to avoid Subway as a corporation. Over the years, they’ve become notorious for sprouting up in any location that has the bare minimum supplies to host a restaurant. In fact, their franchising policies are so bad, that if you own a Subway restaurant, nothing in their guidelines prevents a fellow Subway restaurant from moving next door and competing with you directly. If you’ve ever wondered why there’s always a shocking number of Subway locations in the 10 mile radius, that pretty much solves it.

The main issue with Subway I wish to explore today is the legitimacy of their bread. Since 2014, controversy has surrounded the ingredients of Subway’s bread. It contained “Azodicarbonamide…often used to increase the elasticity of rubber shoe soles, synthetic leather, and yoga mats, among other non-food items” [Elias 3]. You probably wouldn’t want that in your bread from the name, let alone the fact it could also be used in yoga mats. While the ingredient has low level clearance from the FDA, it is still problematic in bakeries and has health risks for those that suffer from asthma. A petition was started for the removal of the “dough conditioner” as some call it, and after a food blogger called out on its use, Subway began to phase out the usage of Azodicarbonamide.

The rubbery dough conditioner was just the start of the controversy however. The reason the bread’s legitimacy was questioned has more to do with the sugar content. In 2020, the Supreme Court of Ireland ruled that Subway’s bread did not match the nation’s guidelines to be considered bread and was therefore classified as a confectionery. A confectionery in this context is just a sugary substance high in carbohydrates. In order to curb the scandal, Subway made the appeal that their bread was a staple food, which backfired on them as well.

If you’ve ever wondered why Subway’s bread seemed different from any other food chain’s, it’s probably to do with the amount of sugar instilled inside of it. Whether the franchise be using dough conditioner or an absurd amount of sugar, they will never be free of controversy.

Read More: https://www.tastingtable.com/1043812/the-subway-bread-controversy-explained/?utm_campaign=clip

Linkowsky, Lisa. “Where Did Subway Go Wrong? – FranchiseWire.” FranchiseWire, 21 June 2022, https://www.franchisewire.com/where-did-subway-go-wrong/. Accessed 18 November 2022.

Nash, Elias. “The Subway Bread Controversy, Explained.” Tasting Table, 7 October 2022, https://www.tastingtable.com/1043812/the-subway-bread-controversy-explained/. Accessed 18 November 2022.