A federal lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California claims that Subway’s tuna isn’t actually tuna, and in fact, is not even fish.
“We found that the ingredients were not tuna and not fish,” one of the attorneys representing the two plaintiffs in the lawsuit told The Washington Post.
The lawsuit claims that the company intentionally made “false and misleading representations about tuna being used as an ingredient.”
“As independent testing has repeatedly affirmed, the Products are made from anything but tuna,” the lawsuit states. “On the contrary, the Products are made from a mixture of various concoctions that do not constitute tuna, yet have been blended together by Defendants to imitate the appearance of tuna.”
According to The Post, Subway’s website currently lists a tuna sandwich as “flaked tuna blended with creamy mayo then topped with your choice of crisp, fresh veggies.”
“You’ll love every bite of our classic tuna sandwich,” the website states.
The lawsuit also claims that “buyers are often willing to pay more for tuna … because they associate the ingredient as having higher nutritional value, including greater protein levels.”
A representative of Subway told the Washington Post that the claims are without merit.