Lawsuit over Subway tuna now says chicken, pork, cattle DNA were
detected
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[November 12, 2021]
By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) -A new version of a lawsuit
accusing Subway of deceiving the public about its tuna products said lab
testing shows they contain animal proteins such as chicken, pork and
cattle, and not the advertised "100% tuna."
Karen Dhanowa and Nilima Amin filed a third version of their proposed
class action this week in the federal court in San Francisco, near their
homes in Alameda County.
Subway said in a statement it will seek to dismiss the "reckless and
improper" lawsuit.
The chain said the plaintiffs have "filed three meritless complaints,
changing their story each time," and that its "high-quality,
wild-caught, 100% tuna" was regulated strictly in the United States and
around the world.
Since the case began in January, Subway has run TV ads and launched a
website https://www.subway.com/en-us/tunafacts defending its tuna. It
also revamped its menu but not its tuna, saying an upgrade wasn't needed
.
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The original complaint claimed that Subway tuna salads, sandwiches and
wraps were "bereft" of tuna, while an amended complaint said they were
not 100% sustainably caught skipjack and yellowfin tuna.
U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar dismissed the second version last month,
saying the plaintiffs did not show they bought Subway tuna based on
alleged misrepresentations.
He did not rule on the merits, and gave the plaintiffs another chance to
make their case.
The Nov. 8 lawsuit relies on testing by a marine biologist of 20 tuna
samples taken from 20 Subway restaurants in southern California.
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The Subway restaurant logo is seen on a napkin in this illustration
photo August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration
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It said 19 samples had "no detectable tuna DNA
sequences," while all 20 contained detectable chicken DNA, 11
contained pork DNA and 7 contained cattle DNA.
Many people cannot eat various meats because of diet or religious
issues.
The complaint said the testing showed that Subway mislabeled its
tuna products, and "duped" consumers into paying premium prices.
Amin said she ordered Subway tuna products more than 100 times from
2013 to 2019, and always checked the menu to ensure she would be
eating "only tuna."
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for fraud and violations of
California consumer protection laws.
The case is Amin et al v Subway Restaurants Inc et al, U.S. District
Court, Northern District of California, No. 21-00498.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Michael Perry
and Rosalba O'Brien)
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