From time to time, I go into a Subway because the issue will be quantity over quality. Sure the cold cuts are all turkey-based (yes, that includes ham and salami), the lettuce looks more white than green, and an ice cream scooper is used for the tuna. But a footlong for $5 (for specials) can’t be beat. The service is always friendly, and if it’s good enough for Robert Griffin III, it’s good enough for me.
But ever notice that seafood salad in the bin? Ever wonder how often it’s ordered and how it was made? A thoughtful food blog called Sandwichtalk did some investigating. Is there any actual seafood in that Seafood Sensation? Answers were hard to come by. You won’t find the Seafood Sensation on the Subway website. But it seems to be mostly Alaska pollock. There is a small portion of fresh crab in the mix, but much of it comes from surimi, sometimes known as crabstick, which itself derives from pollock.
According to a Seafood Business article from 2006, “Subway’s Seafood Sensation sandwich, which contains 10 percent real crabmeat, is made with Alaska pollock processed by Trans-Ocean and supplied to Subway by Jana Worldwide in Natick, Mass.” Mind you, there’s nothing wrong with surimi. As Jeanne McManus noted in the Washington Post in 2002, “The key to using surimi, we learned, was to avoid cooking it. (Don’t be tempted to put it in a quiche either.) If you’re serving it in a warm dish, toss it in only at the last minute. In fact, since it doesn’t need to be cooked or even warmed, it is at its best when it used in salads or in situations where heat is not required or is at a minimum.” (You’ve also undoubtedly had surimi if you’ve ever had a California roll.)
In other words, no false advertising here at Subway—although it would be more accurate to call the sandwich a Surimi Sensation.