“The allegation that our chicken is only 50% chicken is 100% wrong," said SUBWAY® President and CEO Suzanne Greco.
Recently, a Canadian TV show (CBC’s Marketplace) ran a report about quick-serve restaurant chicken sandwiches. It used factually incorrect data to suggest the chicken SUBWAY serves might not be all chicken. The claims made in the story are false and misleading. We use only chicken – with added marinade, spices and seasoning. Producing high-quality food for our customers is our highest priority.
Our chicken is and has always been 100% real chicken. In response to these baseless allegations, we had two independent labs, one in the US and one in Canada, test our Canadian chicken products. Their results were clear (and you can view them here, here and here). There is a small amount of soy protein in the seasoning, spices and marinade (less than 1%) to help maintain moisture and texture.
Our U.S. Chicken
Our Oven Roasted Chicken and chicken strips are made from 100 percent all white meat chicken. The chicken is mixed with spices, seasoning and marinade then cooked and seared to perfection. When we add spices and seasoning to the marinade, we also add – in some regions – dried soy protein, like a spice. When the chicken and marinade are all mixed together, our chicken contains 1% or less of soy protein.
After the chicken is marinated and cooked, a finished chicken patty or strip still contains a small percentage of the marinade ingredients, which help keeps the chicken moist and flavorful.
All of our chicken is free of artificial flavors and preservatives and colors from artificial sources. Our chicken products are made with chicken raised without antibiotics.
Our U.S. Ingredients
Our oven-roasted chicken is made from chicken breast with rib meat, water, chicken flavor (sea salt, sugar, chicken stock, salt, flavors, canola oil, onion powder, garlic powder, spice, chicken fat, honey), contains 2% or less of potato starch, sodium phosphate, dextrose, carrageenan.
Our chicken strips are made from boneless skinless chicken breast with rib meat, water, contains 2% or less soy protein concentrate, modified potato starch, sodium phosphate, potassium chloride, salt, maltodextrin, yeast extract, flavors, natural flavors, dextrose, caramelized sugar, paprika, vinegar solids, paprika extract, chicken broth. Contains: Soy
All of the ingredients in our menu items can be found here: Product Ingredients - USA
Our U.S. Suppliers
Our U.S. chicken suppliers are Perdue, West Liberty Foods, Keystone and Ed Miniat. All are HAACP-approved, BFC- or GFSI-certified, and USDA-inspected on a daily basis.
In addition, each supplier is regularly audited by SUBWAY® to ensure they meet the highest standards of quality.
U.S. Regulatory Authorities
Every protein item on our menu, including our chicken, is inspected by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and all of our offerings meet or exceed USDA standards and labeling requirements.
To learn more about our Canadian chicken, click here