Subway Bread isn’t Bread, Irish Court Says

LONDON (AP) — 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. The company argued that some of its takeaway products including heated sandwiches were not liable for value-added tax.

A panel of judges rejected the appeal Tuesday, ruling that the bread sold by Subway contains too much sugar to be categorized as a “staple food,” which is not taxed.

They said that the bread in Subway's heated sandwiches has a sugar content of 10% of the weight of the flour included in the dough, exceeding the 2% specified in the law.