Subway 'Chicken' Under Fire After Lab Tests Reveal This Dangerous Ingredient

We all know that eating fast food on a regular basis doesn’t go over well in terms of our health. But if you’re constantly on the go and find yourself eating out more than you’d like, you might at least try to pick the healthiest option. If your choices are a handful of fast food restaurants, you might choose a grilled chicken sub over a big mac and fries. It sounds like the better option, right? Unfortunately, a recent lab test has found shocking results about what’s actually in your Subway sub.

The popular sandwich company faced public backlash in 2014. It was revealed that the bread in their sandwiches contained a chemical often found in yoga mats and other rubber products. The fast food chain quickly announced that they were removing the ingredient from their food. But just a few years later, they’re under fire once again. The most recent scrutiny comes after a recent lab test found something shocking about their chicken.

Subway’s chicken contains only 53.6% chicken DNA.

The Study

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Marketplace division enlisted researchers to test chicken from various fast food restaurants. Scientists at Trent University’s Wildlife Forensic DNA Laboratory tested chicken from several fast food companies, including Wendy’s, McDonald’s, A&W, Tim Horton’s and Subway.

Every fast food restaurant tested at least 84% and above, except for Subway. Researches explained, “An unadulterated piece of chicken from the store should come in at 100 per cent chicken DNA. Seasoning, marinating or processing meat would bring that number down, so fast food samples seasoned for taste wouldn’t be expected to hit that 100 per cent target.”

The Results

Subway’s results were so low that researchers decided to test them again. They biopsied five new oven roasted chicken pieces and five new orders of chicken strips. According to CDC, “Those results were averaged: the oven roasted chicken scored 53.6 per cent chicken DNA, and the chicken strips were found to have just 42.8 per cent chicken DNA.”

Wondering what the majority of the remaining DNA was? Soy.

Soy is often marketed as a healthy option, but it’s actually linked to many health problems. Soy is one of the most commonly genetically modified foods in the world. Research links soy to serious health issues including thyroid dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders and infertility. It’s even linked cancer and heart disease.

Not surprisingly, Subway questioned the results of the tests. According to a company statement: SUBWAY Canada cannot confirm the veracity of the results of the lab testing you had conducted. However, we are concerned by the alleged findings you cite with respect to the proportion of soy content.” The company claimed that they recently tested their products and determined they were up to their standards.

The testing revealed other concerns about Subway’s chicken. According to Marketplace, “Once the ingredients [were] factored in, the fast food chicken had about a quarter less protein than you would get in its home-cooked equivalent. And overall, the sodium levels were between seven and 10 times what they would be in a piece of unadulterated chicken.”

Subway has worked to eliminate antibiotics in their chicken in the past. But it looks like they have a long way to go before they start serving real food. That grilled “chicken” sub doesn’t sound so appetizing now, does it?