Tuna Story Exposes Challenges of Seafood Authentication

A New York Times investigation’s failure to amplify tuna DNA from Subway’s tuna salad sandwiches likely says more about the complexities of identifying processed fish than about the ingredients.

Written byChristie Wilcox, PhD

| 4 min read

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“No amplifiable tuna DNA”—that was the result of a lab test ordered by a New York Times reporter looking into questions surrounding the content of Subway’s tuna salad, which has since made headlines globally in outlets including Fox Business, The Guardian, and Today. The paper’s investigation, published on June 19 in the Style section, involved collecting tuna salad samples from three Los Angeles–area Subway franchises, freezing them, and sending them on ice to an unnamed commercial food testing lab “across the country” for DNA analysis.

The piece followed a January 21 lawsuit levied against the sandwich giant alleging that the tuna salad their restaurants serve is “made from anything but tuna.” The plaintiffs, two residents of Alameda County, California, tell The Washington Post that the assertion is backed by “independent lab tests.” According to Subway, there is “simply is no truth to the allegations,” and a ...

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Meet the Author

Christie Wilcox, PhD
Christie was a well-established science blogger and writer when she was awarded a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology with a specialization in ecology, evolution and conservation biology from the University of Hawai‘i in 2014 for her research on the genetics of lionfishes. A short two years later, she published her debut book Venomous: How Earth’s Deadliest Creatures Mastered Biochemistry, which received widespread acclaim, and after that, she fully left academia behind and established herself as a science writer and editor. She joined The Scientist in 2021 as newsletter editor and left as senior editor in 2023. She is a member of the Author’s Guild, the Northwest Science Writers Association, and the National Association of Science Writers.
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