Subway Footlong VS POM Wonderful
Verdict DROP IT DROP IT
The Reality After an Australian teenager posted a photo in 2013 showing his 'Footlong' measuring only 11 inches, a New York Post check of seven Footlongs purchased in New York found four measured only 11 or 11.5 inches. A resulting US class-action lawsuit reached a settlement requiring Subway to maintain practices ensuring its bread is at least 12 inches for four years, with ten named plaintiffs receiving $500 each. However, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that settlement in August 2017, calling it 'worthless' because limited discovery had actually found Subway already took steps to ensure 12-inch bread and that the minor length variability was due to normal, unpreventable baking variation -- meaning the underlying claims had little merit once properly examined, and the court held 'no class action settlement that yields zero benefits for the class should be approved.' An FTC Administrative Law Judge ruled that expert testimony showed insufficient competent and reliable scientific evidence to support these disease-related claims, and the full FTC Commission subsequently found POM had made deceptive claims across 36 separate advertisements and promotional materials. The FTC's Final Order barred POM from claiming any product treats or prevents disease unless backed by two randomized, well-controlled human clinical trials. POM appealed, but the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the FTC's decision in January 2015, and the US Supreme Court declined to review the case in 2016, letting the ruling against POM stand as final.
SHORT ANSWER
Subway Footlong: A viral 2013 photo and follow-up press checks found some real 'Footlong' sandwiches measuring only 11 to 11.5 inches, but a federal appeals court later found Subway's actual baking process was already designed to produce 12-inch bread, with the shortfall caused by normal, unpreventable oven variability rather than a deliberate shortchange.
POM Wonderful: POM Wonderful's claims that its pomegranate juice treats or prevents heart disease, prostate cancer, and erectile dysfunction were found deceptive by the FTC, upheld by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2015, and left standing after the Supreme Court declined to review the case in 2016.