Thursday, August 9, 2007

Subway

(determination in progress)
Kudos to Subway for providing full ingredient lists. However, one needs to know if the enzymes listed in the ingredients for their bread are of animal origin. Common knowledge about the 'Net is that they are NOT of animal origin, but I followed up with Michelle to find out for the record.

Hello,
I would like to visit your restaurant. Can you tell me what menu items are vegan (no animal products)? Thank you for taking the time to research this.
Best,Erin


Subway response:
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Dear Ms xxx:
Thank you for your interest in Subway nutritional information.
On our website www.subway.com you will be able to find our nationally offered products broken down by Nutrition/Ingredient information. All information is updated regularly, unlike printed material they may be out dated.
Some local items will be found by clicking on the "Printer Friendly Version" on our website. For those local items not listed you will need to ask at your local Subway.
Highlight the maroon "Menu/Nutrition" tab at the top of the main page.
Select "Nutrition" at the bottom of the page you will see the following options:
Printer-Friendly Nutrition Info Sandwich Components
Product Ingredients,
Health & Nutrition Links School Lunch Program
Weekly Reader Program,
Food Allergies Information Fat, Fiber, and Sodium Tips
Weight Management
Again, thank you for choosing Subway.
Sincerely,
Michelle Lawson x
Customer Care Representative


My response #2:
Hello Michelle,
Many thanks for your prompt response.
Can you tell me if the enzymes in your bread are of animal origin?
Thank you,
Erin


Then I noticed another suspect ingredient, Sodium Stearoyl-2-Lactylate, which prompted another follow-up question:
Hello Michelle,
Can you also determine if the Sodium Stearoyl-2-Lactylate in your bread is of animal origin?
Thanks,
Erin


Six days later, I forwarded our conversation to Michelle to remind her, as I had received no response yet.

She replied #2:
On 8/16/07, Michelle lawson wrote:
This has been sent to the nutritionist and I have not heard anything back yet, sorry.
michelle


I thanked her for her extra effort and told her I was looking forward to hearing from her. Will update as necessary.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

i don't know if you still update this but subway has now put on their website under FAQ that the veggie delight on Italian bread is vegan. They have a specific question related to vegan items on their menu!

Vegan Eating Out said...

Subway has many vegan choices. You can find them as well as other popular fast food chains and restaurants here:

Subway Vegan Diet Menu

Dave said...

I'm not sure what your experience is, but the people making subway sandwiches will typically grab meat for someone else's sandwich and then grab your veggies for your vegan sandwich with the same gloves. I haven't tried asking them to change their gloves in between.

Erin said...

IME Subway employees have had absolutely no problem with a glove change requests. I've eaten at a lot of Subways. I'd say 10-15% they preemptively ask if you'd like a glove change when I order veggie.