VIDEO: Former Franchisee Reveals Subway Is Just About As Unhealthy As You Thought
It’s no secret that some Subway sandwiches are less healthy than others. If weight loss is your goal, you know you’d have better luck with the Oven Roasted Chicken on wheat than the Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki on Honey Oat. What you might not know is just how much leeway the sandwich chain affords itself when labeling its “healthier” options. Hint: it’s kind of, sort of, a lot.
You may have noticed on every Subway menu board, there’s a neat little call out that lets customers know which sandwiches contain exactly 6 grams of fat or less. But beneath that helpful bit of branding, there’s even more helpful fine print that clarifies the label only applies for 6″-ers made with white or wheat bread, and without cheese, certain add-ons, or condiments.
Duh, you might be thinking. Of course my Roast Beef with bacon, Swiss, avocado, and chipotle sauce on Italian Herb and Cheese contains a whole, whopping 43 grams of fat — 20 of which comes just from the dressing alone. I knew that. For reference, a McDonald’s Big Mac contains 530 calories and 27 grams of fat. Yet you and many others continue to make similar orders. So is it Subway’s fault for being mildly misleading, or ours for just not giving a f*ck?
Former Australian Subway franchisee Arun Singhal adamantly blames the Sub. In a recently leaked video, the disgruntled business owner goes “behind the scenes” to argue that, because many people order their sandwiches with cheese and condiments, Subway’s nutritional information should readily reflect so. According to media reports, Singhal claims he brought his concerns to Subway’s corporate offices both in Australia and the U.S., after which he was victimized by the “Sandwich Mafia” and forced to close his store. He then created a series of videos and a website exposing the chain’s not-so-secret secret and demanded compensation for his losses — reportedly up to $35 million.
The video of Singhal’s little expose — which is supposedly under legal ban by the Supreme Court of Victoria, but is also readily available for public viewing on Youtube — can be seen here.
But what does it mean for any of us? Will we sacrifice our favorite toppings — quite possibly the only things that make Subway sandwiches tolerable — just to fit a number? Will we throw up our arms in outrage for Subway’s supposed lies? Or, more likely, will we continue to enjoy our bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato subs with creamy sriracha sauce, in delicious, ignorant, bliss?
My money, and cholesterol, are heavily on the latter.
