Sunday, March 19, 2006

Quiznos nutrition facts non-disclosure

Here is a recent reader comment on a post in U.S. Food Policy last year:
I went to Quizno's today. 19-MARCH-06. No Nutrition Information. They told me to go to their web site. I did. NO NUTRITION INFORMATION! So, I e-mailed them, although I doubt it will do any good. I won't eat there again if I can't get some information about their sandwiches. My whole family really enjoys them, but they will lose business if they can't (or won't) accomodate the "healthy conscience" society we live in. I did notice they have a link at the very bottom of one page, that has nutrition facts, when you click the link there are 3 (count 'em), T-H-R-E-E of their numerous sandwiches listed with nutrition facts. Thanks for your blog.
This weblog got started on Quiznos, because the public policy considerations go a step beyond the non-disclosure of other restaurant chains. The federal government's beef checkoff board -- sponsors of the slogan "Beef. It's what's for dinner" -- helped Quiznos to promote what appears to be an immense high-calorie high-saturated-fat sandwich, the Quiznos Steakhouse Beef Dip Sub. It is not just about a private company making its own recalcitrant marketing decisions. It is about the federal government pressing us to eat more of a particularly unpromising product.

Unlike Quiznos, the Subway restaurant chain appears to provide great nutrition information on its website. When I started focusing on Quiznos last year, I was new to weblogging, and thought that a little exposure would prompt a response. Surely a corporation must respond to consumer demand! But the Quiznos website still includes nutrition facts information only for the same token healthy sandwiches, and the same web link for sending your comments to Quiznos.

With apologies to the regular readers, who have seen this topic before, I will keep pressing this issue. It would be wise for Quiznos to bend. If the company just once discloses its full line of nutrition facts information on its website, or sends the facts to us to share, I will lay off Quiznos for a year and start on another restaurant chain.

Comments are open.

[Update: new labels have been added so readers can find related posts.]

53 comments:

urban bohemian said...

I have an e-mail chain back and forth to Quiznos, probably very similar to that reader's results. It frustrated me to no end that they refused to provide this information.

Anonymous said...

Quizno's continues to refuse to give out this info -- I asked not too long ago and got 100% silence as a response. It's shameful. Well, here's why.

Quizno's Nutritional Content

I don't know how accurate this table is, but it's the first real indications I've seen of Quizno's nutritional content. Check out that sodium content!! Most of the sandwiches (even the "lite" ones) have 80%+ of your RDA for sodium. Incredible. And some of the meatier sandwiches have as much calories and fat as a Big Mac or Whopper.

If that's true, it explains in a heartbeat why Quizno's continues to refuse to release the info. They really should be re-qualified as fast food, not take on this pseudo-healthy image that they seem to do.

I love me some Quizno's, just like occasionally I like a Big Mac or something. I'm human. :) But they're going off my more than once a month menu at this point due to what I've found on that web site.

Adrienna said...

On the Australian Quiznos site, there's nutritional information: http://www.quiznos.com.au/menu-nutrition.shtml

I don't know how accurate it is, though, for the U.S. market. Lots of differences, but it gives you an idea ... and like Dan said - it's not exactly pretty. But c'mon, it's still fast food, which is always high in sodium. And for the record, so is Subway. It's all about YOUR choices.

Anonymous said...

Yes!! I agree! I am so mad! I love the sandwiches but will go else where because of the Calerie and fat I have to count. I could save those up if I new how much I had to save. SUBWAY here I come.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, a quiznos just came to my town, and i looked far and wide for some nutrition info to help me choose my entree....but nothing to be found. Went on the website, and well-you know. I am amazed to find that the nutrition information is kept under such close wraps. Guess i will be another Quiznos boycotter!

Anonymous said...

I like how on the Australian site their 'regular' size corresponds with our 'small' size in America.

Anonymous said...

Call around to the meat packers in the Denver area. They will tell you Quiznos bought up all of their Commercial Rib-Eye. I can only assume they are passing it off as Prime Rib or the black Angus. What do you think?

Anonymous said...

http://www.quiznos.com/menu/nutrition.asp

Anonymous said...

http://www.quiznos.com.au/pdfs/NutritionalInfoDL_1.pdf

Anonymous said...

The last part of the URL got cut off in the post above. You can use this, too: http://tinyurl.com/gdojp

Anonymous said...

omg
you would think we could do something about this, isn't there some law against keeping that information like the freedom of information act? screw quiznos

Anonymous said...

I was just looking on their website for nutritional information and they do now have a "nutritional" section, but it only contains two of their selections!!

Anonymous said...

Yikes!!! I just ate their heavily advertised Smoke House Beef Brisket and I think my heart is going to explode! Gosh those marketers got me again and I consider myself pretty conscience of that stuff.
I'm guessing their Sodium content is the reason why they don't share their nutritiion facts? They dip their shredded meats in some heavy marinade and my bright red eyes are telling me that that stuff is loaded with ingrediants that are not so friendly to the body.

Conservative Futurist said...

Quizno Corporate = Rat Bastards.

How can they publicly make claims like "low carb" and "healthy" when they don't even provide the information to back it up?

Shady. I'll be taking my business elsewhere.

Anonymous said...

ˆ'm there on that one, no nutrition facts, no business

Anonymous said...

Initially I was teed off at Quiznos too, but it took me about 30 seconds to find www.dietfacts.com on my Google search for Quiznos info and there was all the data I was looking for. I don't know why Quiznos doesn't make this info easily available at their website (bad decision in my opinion), but the info is out there.
Mark P

usfoodpolicy said...

What did you find on the DietFacts website? All I see are some noncomparable products from Australia, and some customer queries asking for nutrition facts information. Parke

Conservative Futurist said...

You can find my "anti-quiznos" page here. Join the boycott!

http://conservativefuturist.blogspot.com/2006/09/quiznos-you-lost-my-business.html

Anonymous said...

This seems like such an odd thing to be upset about. I was looking for nutritional information out of curiosity, but I'm not so upset about it as to make a website! When I go to my deli they just give me roast beef, they don't have nutritional info for it. I don't walk up to a market clerk and ask for nutrition information on an apple. Just because Quiznos is a chain doesn't automatically mean it has to subscribe to a weight obsessed culture of fatties that want to have their cake and eat it too. If I were overweight I wouldn't go to the deli and buy ham at all, let alone go there and whine that they don't count the calories in the ham.

As for the mention of the OMG fatty steakhouse beef dip? A regular size has 4 whole ounces of deli roast beef on it. That can't possibly be the calorie busting conspiracy you're making it out to be.

Anonymous said...

http://www.thedailyplate.com/food-nutrition/food/quiznos-australia

that has it all

Anonymous said...

I wonder how many thousands of comments they get from people wanting nutrition info.

Anonymous said...

I agree. I currently work on a university campus that has a Quiznos in the food court (along with that ever so healthy Taco Bell). I, and a lot of other university employee and students live a healthy lifestyle. Our campus also promotes healthy living through several employee and student related projects. However, our university houses a fast food chain that does not provide consumers with nutrition information. I have also stopped eating Quiznos due to their seemingly lack of care for their customers' health. I wish our university would also realize the issue here, and either demand nutritional information or remove them from the campus food court. Keep up the good fight for our rights as consumers to be informed of the products we purchase to the utmost capabilties of the companies that provide them to us.

Anonymous said...

I to, ask the manager of a Quizno's this afternoon about there nutrition information, and was told they same caned story, about going to the web site. But with one small twist, he added there are only required to have nutrition information guides if they state they have low fat then some other place. I found that to be a bit strange. I will also stop eating there as well if they cant or wont provide the simpleist of request. I think they should change there name from Quizno's to No1knows.

Yours.

Anonymous said...

In response to the eroneous comment on the availability of nutritional information at the deli - deli's do carry nutritional information on the meat they sell and I use it to find meat without nitrites. You can also go online and find a variety of websites that provide you the caloric content of most of the food we consume - fruits, veggies, etc. I too eat at Quizno's on occasion and wish they had nutritional information. I go for their salads and don't eat the dressing. I question the diet fact website as it said the salad I choose is 120 calories w/o the dressing and since they put a gram of chicken on it + cheese, it is at least 250 calories if not more. And yes, some Quizno's actually weight out the chicken, others don't.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...

I can't believe it, over a year and they still haven't responded to consumer demand. We found a link on their site map to nutrition information, but it was broken. We searched everywhere for information on their Smoked Turkey on Rosemary Parmesan Bread small sub, but couldn't find it. I think this is irresponsible, I will be sticking with Subway. At least I know what I am eating.

Anonymous said...

I just recently asked for a nutrition guide and was told that one was in the works and they expected it out in late summer 2007. I hate to break the news to the anonymous blogger from 12/30/2006 but not all of the people looking for a nutrition guide are fatties. Some of us are diabetic and others of us have true health concerns and life threatening allergies to certain foods so we need to know what our meals are made of. Yes it is our decision to eat or not eat at a restaurant if we don't truly know the contents. But you would think that a popular restaurant chain would want to inform their consumers. If they lose a little bit of business because of unhealthy items, oh well. I'm sure when Subway was profiling Jared, McDonald's was shaking in their boots. What happened to them? Well let's see...healthier items on their menu and then people started flocking to their restaurants again. It all works out in the end if you just inform your consumers, make a few changes and let them know you're genuinely concerned about their health.

Kathi said...

I've been annoyed by Quizno's lack of willingness to share nutritional information for years. I have to agree that the best thing we can all do is boycott Quizno's and keep pestering them (reminding them loudly that they have LOST OUR BUSINESS) until they disclose this information. I've been trying to eat healthier, and it's frustrating to not know what some of my favorite foods are made up of. So, unless and until I can be 100% sure of what's in something, I'm not eating it. Why is Quizno's being so stubborn on this?

Anonymous said...

I googled 'Quiznos nutrition' and found a couple great sites with information if you're still looking. Be wary though because they are not Quiznos and therefore do not have all the information (how do they add flavor...what is the chicken marinated in for example). There may be hidden fats. www.thedailyplate.com and www.calorieking.com www.nutritiondata.com doesn't have quiznos but is a good site for other nutrition information. As for those who ridicule "fatties," give me a break. I'm not fat but still interested in what I put into my body to stay fit. You clearly have no concept of nutrition for the sake of nutrition and the expectation that a company should be responsible to it's consumers who have been asking for this information for years. I don't think people are irate because they don't plaster the facts all over the restaurant. People are upset because they work so hard to hide the facts. What does this say? I recently e-mailed Q and let them know that I will be going to Subway instead until they are more forthcoming. Good luck to all.

Anonymous said...

If you click on the consumer comments section of their website, then select nutritionals, it indicates that nutrition information will be available on the website September 2007. its about time!

Anonymous said...

Heather posted some helpful websites to try and uncover Quizno's nutrition information, but when I looked up "chocolate chip cookie", the nutrition information on thedailyplate.com showed calories and the fat content for one cookie as half the amount shown on calorieking.com. So which one is right? Did I misread something? Or will we just have to wait until September (if we're lucky). Until Quizno's starts providing the information themselves, I'm going to Subway. But I have to confess I'm gonna miss Quizno's Deli Tuna!

Anonymous said...

Hey there everyone. Guess what! I WORK at Quiznos. And...well I get free small sandwiches for break everytime. And well, I'm not going to blame Quiznos for this, but when I started Quiznos I was already on a diet. But since my diet started to get interrupted by the new kinds of food I was eating, I stopped dieting. And well, that's probably most of the reason, but, I've also gained a little bit more weight than anticipated!

So, I'm also mad that Quiznos won't show their nutritional facts. But hey, I need my break...

And well, since I work there, I'll tell you how it kinda is. It IS true that we cut and slice everything on our own. And everyday it's new, fresh ingredients. We always wear gloves and we always have to clean up our mess. I mean, the place is in no way gross or dirty.

But! That still doesn't mean I know how many calories are in the sandwiches or if the breads and sauces used are low-calorie. Probably not, is my guess. And I don't know if the soups are good either. They just come as frozen bags and we defrost them, put them in the microwave to heat up, then keep them on the stove all day. So I dunno about that!

But, I think...that as long as you keep it to a small sub, and not a lot of dressing or any other extra ingredients, then those sandwiches can be pretty healthy for you. That's just my opinion anyway.

Well, good luck trying to boycott Quiznos or whatever, haha.

Anonymous said...

I'm eating sensibly and counting calories; since June I've lost 21 pounds. (I have at least another 30 pounds to lose.) Every now and then I can fit in a McDonald's quarter-pounder and fries because they reveal the nutritional info and I can budget for it. But I REFUSE to eat Quizno's food I cannot get nutritional info for - and I tell everyone I know about their corporate irresponsibility. I used to eat at Quizno's frequently - but no more. It's Subway for me. I can't believe Quizno's is so thick-headed about this.

Anonymous said...

If you're trying to lose weight-- don't eat fast food! Make your own food so you can monitor the ingredients and stop bitching about it. Plain and simple.

Anonymous said...

Per Quizno's website "Nutritional information will be available on Quiznos.com in the Fall of 2007."

Anonymous said...

I stumbled upon your blog when I was doing what I thought was the simple task of looking up Quizno's nutritional facts. Little did I realize! My frustration is the salads. The "flatbread" salads, I believe, defeat the purpose of a salad... ya know, avoiding the BREAD. They have completely moved over to the Flatbread salads and no longer offer the regular salads sans bread. I emailed Quizno's to express my disappointment (sha, like I expected a response). So now I take the bread out and give it to my co-workers... but what about the dressings?? What fat content is in those?
I know Subway is better for the nutritionally conscious, but DANG that place is so bland and flavorless. Is that really the trade off??

Anonymous said...

They promise some info (http://www.quiznos.com/nutritionals.aspx) soon. Won't be eating there until I can see some data. Annoying dishonest bastards!

Anonymous said...

Oh and replying to some of the other posts...it's not about whether you choose to eat fast food or not...it's about whether, corporations such as Quizno's have a responsibility to the consumer. It's about whether You or I, are being lied to in any way. And witholding (not publishing, not answering e-mailed questions on nutrition) information is tantamount to lying. Tell me everything about your product and if i still choose to consume it, it is my problem. Just don't take my money and lie to me.

Anonymous said...

Who said you had to be on weight loss plan to want to know the nutritional information in what you are eating?? Many people who follow a healthy lifestyle monitor the nutritional information of what they eat. Also for anyone who has ever monitored what they eat you know that a turkey sub at one place is not the same at another. I think fast food should show nutritional information for the same reasons the FDA requires nutritional labels on packaged goods. I think everyone should have the right to know what they put into their bodies, especially after the most recent findings on transfats.

Anonymous said...

Quiznos NOW states that nutritional info will be avail Fall 2007. Well, it's now Oct, and nada. But, if anyone is seeking allergen info they have that avail under the consumer comments, nutritional links.

Until then, I have found Panera Bread to be a great substitute. If you are lucky to have one nearby, check them out. Their website offers nutritional info for each item.

Anonymous said...

I've been trying to find nutritional information on Quizno's and Checker's/Rally's and nothing came up on their sites.
Those chains give the same old excuse that check out their website and nothing came up. I believe that the fat and sodium content are unusually high almost to the point of probably beyond 80% to over 200% in value. It seems that there is no law from the FDA to state out nutritional facts. I've eaten there and it seems to be a big problem for me since I have high blood pressure (stage 2 hypertension). This is a serious matter and it will have consequences on those franchises if they are sued by customers. Their websites should post nutritional information. Otherwise, it'll be big trouble for those two chains and numerous complaints from customers.

Anonymous said...

I have been a manager at Quiznos for five years and as long as i have been there i cant recall us ever claiming to be healthy.We are most known for are crazy commercials not healthy ones. Most of you are probably overweight and have no business eating out. Just to let you know you should be more concern about is the MSG levels in subways food which is known to cause cancer.Also there meat comes in already sliced and frozen wonder how they do that? Last time i checked we are fast food.Boycott all you want trust me it's not hurting us.Sense all of you seem to have too much time on your hands try hitting the gym. |All of you should know anything that taste that good cant be healthy.Its all in how you order your sub.Add one sauce to your sub at subway and you come up with same problem.Heres a food for thought eat at home.Just to let you know i put a subway you of business right around the corner .If this is biggest problem in your life your lucky.And if your that anal i'm glad you don't come in my.P.S go choke on a big mac fatty

Anonymous said...

ok well first of all quizno's manager...some people posting on here aren't fat (although i'm sure the vast majority of people who spend enough time on the internet to research these things extensively probably are, and i agree that any web-based boycott will not be effective). But is it really that much to ask for quizno's to give out nutririon facts? I mean, even McDonald's does it and so much of their stuff is so disgusting for you. Even if quizno's is bad for you, at least those of us concerned about moderation and staying fit (and wanting to eat quizno's!) could have something to go by. I know it's not your decision, i just don't see why they won't just make the information accessible

Anonymous said...

seriously though i started eating quizno's honey mustard chicken subs a lot (regular size), and i noticeably lost weight...i'm not saying quizno's is super healthy or anything, but switching to that in place of any other fast-food (because for me, cooking is not an option) seemed to do some good. Oh and I also switched from beer to wine haha, so it was either quizno's or the wine (or a combination)

Anonymous said...

Dear Quizno's manager:
Defensive much? Ever heard of moderation? Don't know anyone who is healthy but likes a little treat sometimes, and wants to know what the corporate chemical dump is trying to put into their bodies? You seem to think customers wanting information about your product is all a scam to make you submit to your competition. And on a personal note, I must point out that obviously you have too much time on your hands, too - try hitting the library. I can't help thinking perhaps you're only posing as a Quizno's employee, and your ignorant tirade might actually be part of a negative P.R. campaign to make people even angrier at Quizno's. P.S. Go choke on your non-existent nutritional information, cretin

Anonymous said...

The hostile post from the Quiznos manager made me not want to eat at Quiznos anymore.

Anonymous said...

All I know is that when I put the Quiznos Chicken Carbonara Reg size in the Weight Watchers point tracker the Sub was 25 points. Oh my gosh, that’s like a whole day of food in the one sandwich, no wonder they don’t want you to know there nutritional content.

Anonymous said...

Hi! I love the beef dip and I wanted to know how many calories I am eating. So I googled and found this. So I went back to the quiznos website and they NOW HAVE NUTRITION INFORMATION!!!!!!! You go to menu and then at the bottom you hit nutrition info. After that you can see the nutrition of the subs.

Happy nutrition searching!

Drew.Sharalyn.Goodman said...

I was just on their website and they provided a list of nutrition information. The problem i found with it is that it is a little hidden and maybe not as accessible as other restaurants website. but they are there.

Drew.Sharalyn.Goodman said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Marlene
It's 2010 and Quizno's still does not provide nutrition information.
How can this be in this day and age.
Their on my boycott list.

Anonymous said...

Someone mentioned that when you buy an apple in a supermarkt, the nutritional information for the apple is not posted anywhere, so why should restaurants?

I believe the reason why is that the restaurant is selling a manufactured meal, so they are the only ones in a position to accurately provide the nutritional information for their food. The nutritional information for an apple can be easily be found on-line.

I am not sure if the restaurants are required by law to disclose the nutritional information, but they should. If you are concerned about your health, as most of us are these days, avoid restaurants that refuse to share the information.

After all, we do not have to eat at Quizno's. There are several food chains that post their information, plus eating at home or packing your own lunch is cheaper. I am sure that if Quizno's sees a decline in sales they will take the matter seriously. If their sales remain strong however, it means they are catering to a public that has no fear for a coronary.

I guess if they are "killing" their own customers the issue will self correct in a few years.

As much I would like to see them posting the nutritional information, I have to admit that they do not advertise themselves as a healthy pleace to eat. I would actually take their refusal as an admission that they are an un-healthy place to eat, and avoid it accordingly.