Bread, to be unsure, to be unsure

Ireland’s Supreme Court has ruled that bread sold by the fast food chain Subway contains so much sugar that it cannot be legally defined as bread. The ruling came in a tax dispute brought by Bookfinders Ltd., an Irish Subway franchisee, which argued that some of its takeaway products – including teas, coffees, and heated sandwiches – were not liable for value-added tax. A panel of judges rejected the appeal on Tuesday (Wednesday NZT), ruling that the bread sold by Subway contains too much sugar to be categorised as a “staple food,” which is not taxed. “There is no dispute that the bread supplied by Subway in its heated sandwiches has a sugar content of 10 per cent of the weight of the flour included in the dough, and thus exceeds the 2 per cent specified,” the judgement read. They could always reduce the sugar content - after all, Subway is supposed to be a healthy option. But they probably won’t because doing so would alter the taste of the product and this would not go over well with customers.