Why Subway's Eggs Have So Many Ingredients

When you purchase a bacon, egg, and cheese wrap from Subway, you probably expect it to contain all those ingredients and nothing more — but that is not the case. While the chain is no stranger to controversy when it comes to ingredients in its sandwiches, you may be surprised to learn that Subway opts for pre-packaged eggs for its breakfast sandwiches, and some hard-to-pronounce ingredients accompany them.

The list of ingredients in Subway's cage-free eggs includes elements like unmodified corn starch, xanthan gum, tocopherols, cellulose gum, soy lecithin, and citric acid, to name a few. Although it might be disconcerting to think about so many different substances in your breakfast sandwich, these additives all serve a purpose. Most are there to maintain the product's structure and promote a longer shelf life.

It is not just fast food establishments that use processed egg products to serve customers their morning meal. Hotels often make breakfast using powdered eggs which contain anti-caking additives not naturally found in eggs. Still, the question many have when reading a list of ingredients in pre-packaged products is whether they are safe to consume.

The soybean oil on the list of ingredients is a dead giveaway that the Subway breakfast staple is pre-made, as eggs don't naturally contain soy. Still, the FDA generally recognizes soybean oil as safe. Certain folks with soy allergies may want to avoid it, but others probably wouldn't know it was there if they didn't read the list of ingredients. The same goes for many of the other additives in Subway's eggs.

Despite odd-sounding names that seem like they could come from a science experiment gone wrong, these additives are considered safe to consume. In fact, they are meant to help preserve the quality of the eggs. Tocopherols, for example, are chemical compounds that make up forms of vitamin E and may provide health benefits, such as strengthening the immune system.

Cellulose gum is used as a thickening agent in processed foods and is generally recognized as safe by the FDA, although in rare cases, some folks can be allergic to it. Xanthan gum is also used as a thickener for pre-packaged food. Many gluten-free products, like the Toffee-tastic gluten-free Girl Scout cookies, utilize xanthan gum instead of gluten to bind ingredients together and give certain foods structure. For most, there isn't generally anything to worry about when eating pre-packaged eggs with additives, but if you want the only ingredient in your egg sandwich to be eggs, Subway breakfast might not be for you.