Subway Sues Broadcaster for $210M Over Chicken Story

CBC stands by accusation that chain's product is half soy
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 17, 2017 10:25 AM CDT
Subway on CBC Chicken Claim: We're Filing $210M Suit
The Subway chicken sandwich drama continues.   (Joe Ahlquist/The Argus Leader via AP)

Subway and the CBC are continuing their game of chicken, and neither side looks to be swerving. The latest in the fast-food drama: The restaurant chain says it will file a lawsuit against the broadcaster for a story that claims Subway's chicken isn't 100% chicken, but halfway made out of soy, the Toronto Star reports. The CBC hasn't backed down from its accusation after it says it had DNA analysis completed on Subway's meat, even though Subway said it conducted its own tests and found soy to make up less than 1% of its chicken samples. Calling the CBC's report "defamatory" and "absolutely false," the complaint will seek $210 million in damages, a Subway statement announces. The CBC says in a statement of its own that "we believe our journalism to be sound."

Subway franchisee Bob Grewal—who has more than 2,000 Subways under his umbrella—alleges that Trent University researchers who conducted the original study for the CBC have told Subway officials the broadcaster "twisted all the facts," with Grewal adding that he believes this was all intentionally done "to drive ratings," per the New York Post. Subway has since requested a retraction and apology, and it even took out a full-page ad in the Globe and Mail that read: "Saying our chicken is only 50% chicken is 100% wrong." The CBC tells the Star it has so far only received a "notice of action" about the complaint, not the actual statement of claim that sets the suit in motion. (Taco Bell's beef is only 88% beef.)

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