Have you ever taken a look at the nutritional information of Subway's Italian B.M.T.? Well,
we're here to tell you that it's not good news.
Keep watching to learn why you should think twice before ordering Subway's popular sandwich.
Fast-food sandwich chain Subway is incredibly popular and found in hundreds of cities. In 2002,
Subway beat out other popular fast-food franchises like Starbucks and McDonald's
to become the largest fast-food chain in the United States.
"Subway, eat fresh."
But lately, things have been changing for Subway. According to the Washington Post,
in 2021, Subway's domestic sales went down by 3%, which was a larger nosedive than any other
of America's top 25 fast-food chains. This represents a $400 million loss in revenue,
and Subway fell from No. 1 to No. 3 on the list of top-selling fast-food chains.
One of the most popular sandwiches at Subway is the Italian B.M.T., which stands for "biggest,
meatiest, tastiest." Back when Subway was established more than 50 years ago, The
Daily Meal reports that the name originally came from an old New York City subway line. But today,
that route would include the B, D, F, M, Q, R, J, and Z trains. Thankfully the name stayed the same.
According to Fast Food Nutrition, the Italian B.M.T. is one of Subway's most popular sandwiches.
"This Italian B.M.T. is amazing."
The base of the sandwich is centered on spicy pepperoni, Genoa salami, and Black Forest ham
and is able to be customized with any of Subway's cheese, veggies, and sauces. But before you order
the Italian B.M.T., you might want to first take a peek at the nutritional information.
According to the description on the Subway website, a footlong is just over the total
daily recommendation for sodium and over half the recommendation for saturated fat. This
might not seem like much of a deciding factor, but as Lucien Formichella for Insider says,
"This was a well-rounded sandwich, though the meats weren't great.
The salami was a little weird — spicy, but in the blandest way — and the ham got lost at sea."
That lackluster assessment of Subway's Italian sandwich has been echoed elsewhere, too.
If the sandwich is mediocre-tasting and not the best nutrition-wise,
it might not be the best option on the Subway menu. The Italian B.M.T. isn't the only Subway
menu item whose quality has come into question. A court in Ireland ruled in 2020 that Subway's
bread can't legally be called bread. The ruling found that the "bread" doesn't fall into the
legal definition set forth by the Value-Added Tax Act 1972, which says that ingredients like sugar,
fat, and dough improvers must not exceed 2% of the total weight of the flour.
"According to Ireland's supreme court, Subway's bread
is not actually bread because it's too sugary."
Even if you're a fan of Subway's bread, the sandwich fillings might turn you off from ordering
it. As Business Insider uncovered, many Subway locations only receive produce once per week,
with one franchise owner comparing the lettuce to, quote,
"shredded paper." The franchisee added that she used to source produce locally
with daily deliveries, but Subway forced her to stop and adopt a cheaper model.
The meat at Subway isn't much better, either. A DNA test done by CBC Marketplace found that
a sample of Subway's oven-roasted chicken was only 53.6% chicken, and the chicken
strips were a meager 42.8% chicken, with soy comprising the rest of the total.
Even though Subway is definitely fast food, the company tries to market its brand as a
healthier option. But many of Subway's popular menu items clock in at or over the average
daily recommendations for macronutrients like fat and sodium. A six-inch Spicy Italian sub,
for instance, has 1,280 milligrams of sodium. Meanwhile, a six-inch Chicken and
Bacon Ranch sub includes 1,200 milligrams of sodium and 11 grams of saturated fat.
With reports about Subway's freshness and quality slipping, the chain's business success seems to
be taking a noticeable dive. CNN reports that in 2016, Subway closed more locations than it opened,
contributing to Subway's loss of 359 stores overall. 2017 didn't bode much better. According
to Insider, Subway closed another 909 stores, more than 3% of the stores left from the 2016 closures.
Some outlets, like the New York Post, report that one of the possible reasons for this drop in
revenue is Subway's Hail Mary attempt to compete with fast-food giant McDonald's by bringing back
the $5 footlong promotion. The infamous promotion caused an uproar with franchise owners, who were
concerned that offering such a popular discount would cut down their already decreased profits.
In fact, 400 owners signed a petition to block the promotion from being rolled out.
However, Subway still boasts about 40,000 stores worldwide,
according to an August 2021 Forbes report. While some fans may not love
Subway's sandwiches and vegetables, plenty of others enjoy the chain's offerings just fine.
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