Subway sandwiches can't be legally called bread 'as it's too sweet' court rules

A court has ruled that the bread served at Subway cannot be defined as bread because it is 'too sweet'.

The ruling by the Irish Supreme court has been made that the bread cannot be defined as a staple food under Ireland’s Value-Added Tax Act of 1972 because it contains too much sugar.

The case appeared in court after a Subway franchisee, Bookfinders Ltd which is based in Tuam, County Galway, argued that it was not liable for VAT on some of its takeaway products, including teas, coffees and heated filled sandwiches.

However the bread’s sugar content, which is five times the qualifying limit under the act, means that it falls outside Ireland's legal definition of a staple food so VAT is chargeable, Irish Independent reports.

The five-judge court ruled the bread has a sugar content of 10% of the weight of the flour included in the dough.

The bread served at Subway has 10% sugar compared to the maximum 2% allowed in bread in Ireland (Subway)

But under the act the weight of ingredients such as sugar, fat and bread improver should not be higher that 2% of the weight of flour in the dough.

The appeal arose from a decision by the Revenue Commissioners in 2006 to refuse a refund for VAT payments made between early 2004 and late 2005.

The case was heard at the Supreme Court in Ireland (Handout)

Bookfinders claimed a refund saying VAT the rate should have zero.

In 2014 Subway removed a controversial chemical used to improve dough from its bread following the launch of a public petition.

Azodicarbonamide is commonly used to make yoga mats and carpet underlay but has been banned by the European Union and Australia from use in food products.

Mirror Online has contacted Subway for comment.