Dorian Havers

A few days ago, I decided that the Vonder Meulens and I can't be the only ones who have come across cross-contamination in Subway's food. So I poked around on the internet a bit, and I came across a page on examiner.com written by Dorian Havers, a woman with severe food allergies who suffered an allergic reaction after eating subway.

Dorian Havers

She lists some of the potential hazards associated with Subway, as well as a few tips I haven't yet listed to help avoid a reaction. The full page can be found at:

http://www.examiner.com/x-636-Providence-Food-Allergy-Examiner~y2008m8d29-Subway-Youll-need-to-be-extra-careful-if-you-want-to-eat-fresh

I've taken the liberty of posting her list of potential hazards here...

• "All the foods are in open bins and any food could potentially drop into another bin."
• "Workers wear gloves while making sandwiches, but do not change them between orders. This is probably how I got sick."
• "The knives used to slice the sandwiches are not cleaned in-between sandwiches."
• "Breads containing cheese are baked with other breads. This is not a likely contaminant, but worth a mention."

She also mentions that, in addition to asking workers to change their gloves in between each order, customers with food allergies should ask workers to refrain from cutting their sandwich. Also, Havers mentions that customers should check Subway's nutritional info online.

Consequences

Emily Vonder Meulen

In my last post, I mentioned that cross-contamination from a Subway sandwich was already responsible for the death of a young girl, Emily Vonder Meulen. Emily suffered from a severe peanut allergy. In 2006, her mother took her shopping and bought her a Subway lunch at the mall's food court. Emily's sandwich, which her mother says she'd eaten "a hundred times before," had somehow gotten a few crumbs of a peanut butter cookie in it; the thirteen-year-old was dead less than 20 minutes later.

Her parents made an appearance on the Today Show to tell their story:

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This instance is completely unacceptable; it should never have happened. If the Subway employee had taken a few simple precautionary measures, like changing his or her gloves or preparing the sandwich farther away from the cookies, this girl would still be alive.

Children's Hospital Allergy Director Dr. Assa'ad told Cincinnati's WCPO (channel 9) just that."We feel the food handling practices are such that cross contamination is not considered," he said.

Subway managers, it's time for you to start considering them. Don't wait until this happens at your store to start making changes. Talk to your employees. Make them wash their knives and change their gloves. Better still-- print this allergy chart out and display it prominently in your store:

http://www.subway.com/subwayroot/MenuNutrition/Nutrition/pdf/AllergenChart.pdf

Keep potential allergens away from other food, watch for ingredients dropping into other food bins, and just be careful.


In other words: step it up, Subway!

The Reason We're Here

Dear Ezmerelda Ojeda, Pedro Gutierrez, and Chadra Guda,

Subway sandwiches are one of my favorite types of food; they taste great, you can customize them however you want, and they’re a relatively healthy fast food option. So a few weeks ago, when I went shopping with a friend and dinner time rolled around, I moseyed over to the shopping center’s Subway restaurant and got in line to order my food.

The man in front of me ordered the newest “Five-Dollar Footlong,” the Seafood Sensation, which is basically crab meat covered in what looks like mayonnaise. The worker used a nearby knife to spread the crab meat out evenly over the sandwich, then finished the man’s order and sent him to the cash register. When it came time for me to order my turkey sandwich, the woman picked up the same knife—without washing it—and proceeded to slice my bread.

Now, I’m rather disgusted by seafood, but I didn’t want to be a finicky customer, so instead of complaining I said, “Ma’am? I’m sorry, could you use a different knife? I’m allergic to crab and you just used that knife on his sandwich.”

The worker responded with an, “Uhhh… sure.” She then walked over to the sink and, instead of finding me a new knife, stuck the crab-covered knife under the cold water for less than five full seconds and wiped it off hastily with a paper towel. Then she got me a new roll and made my sandwich. I didn’t press the issue any further, but I left the restaurant feeling angry. True, I probably shouldn’t have made up an allergy, but what if I really was allergic to crab, like some members of my family are? The sandwich I was about to eat would surely give me a reaction.

My concern about Subway's cross-contamination isn't unfounded. In 2006, a thirteen-year-old girl named Emily Vonder Meulen died of an allergic reaction from the Subway sandwich she had eaten, which had somehow been cross-contaminated with a few crumbs of a peanut butter cookie.I have family and friends with food allergies, and the idea that one of them could suffer an allergic reaction-- and, for those with severe allergies, die-- from a sandwich like this girl did frightens me.

That's why I'm writing this letter to you now. You three manage the locations my friends, family and I frequent-- Misison Viejo, Irvine, and Orange. You have the power to make changes within your restaurant, to insist that employees wash knives thoroughly with soap after contact with potential allergens and that they change their gloves frequently to avoid cross-contamination. Subway needs to step up their health precautions, and it can happen one store at a time. Please make this a priority in your restaurants.

Sincerely,
Laura