Subway Veggie Patty

Subway's Veggie Patty is high in histamine, and it is flagged as a liberator. Even though the patty is a blend of ordinary vegetables, the soybeans and soy flour holding it together and the spinach blended into it are the ingredients that set the level.

Why subway veggie patty is rated high

This is the classic case of a food being flagged for reasons that have nothing to do with spoilage. Nothing in this patty is cured, aged, or fermented. It is carrot, onion, green beans, zucchini, broccoli, peas, sweet corn, and garlic held together with oat bran, soy, and starches. The problem is that two of those components are ones people with histamine intolerance commonly react to. Soy is one of the foods that often shows up on lists to watch, with some people finding it sets off symptoms even from a perfectly fresh food, and spinach is on high lists because it contains histamine itself. Oat bran adds moderate weight on top. A fresh patty and an older one rate the same, because it is the recipe doing this, not the handling.

What changes your risk

• Soy and spinach set the level — soybeans and soy flour are both in the patty, and spinach is blended in as well. Each of those rates high on its own, and here they are together.
• The other vegetables are not the issue — carrot, onion, green beans, zucchini, broccoli, peas, sweet corn, and garlic are not what pushed this up. Onion and garlic in particular are generally low, whatever their reputation.
• Oat bran adds moderate weight — it wouldn't make the patty high by itself, but it stacks onto ingredients that already are; red bell pepper is low and isn't part of that.
• Heating on the line does not change it — the patty is warmed to order, and heat does not remove histamine that is already in a food.
• It is a single blended component — nothing in the patty is published as removable, so there is no way to have it without the soy or the spinach. The choice is the patty or something else.

Lower-histamine alternatives

The items rated low at Subway are Cucumbers, Lettuce, and Red Onions, and since this is a build-to-order counter, those are things you actually get to pick. They will not replace a patty as the substantial part of a sandwich, and it would be dishonest to pretend otherwise, but they are the components at Subway this index has rated low. There is no lighter or soy-free version of the Veggie Patty to ask for instead.

How to lower the risk

At the counter, the Veggie Patty is a fixed blend that arrives at the store already made, so there is nothing to leave out of it. If you are building a sandwich and want to stay with the lower-rated components, Cucumbers, Lettuce, and Red Onions are the ones in this index rated low. Watch out for the assumption that vegetarian means gentler here, because the binder is what carries the rating, not the vegetables.

Common questions

It is all vegetables. Why is the Veggie Patty high in histamine?

Because two of its components are ones people with histamine intolerance commonly react to. Soybeans and soy flour bind the patty, and spinach is blended in, and both rate high regardless of how fresh the patty is.

Does the Subway Veggie Patty contain soy?

Yes. Soybeans and soy flour are both on the published ingredient statement, and they are part of why the item rates high.

Is it the spinach alone that makes it high?

No. Spinach is one driver, but the soy in the patty rates high too. Removing one would not fix the other, and neither is something the counter can leave out.

What is low histamine at Subway?

Cucumbers, Lettuce, and Red Onions are the items rated low at Subway in this index.