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 chickenfrom 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?
Images courtesy of David Wolfe.
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