Subway: You’ll need to be extra careful if you want to "eat fresh".

August 29, 9:04 PMProvidence Food Allergy ExaminerDorian Havers

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Restaurant profile: Made to order sandwiches with fresh bread and meats and an array of fresh toppings. Sandwiches can also be toasted.

Taste and nutrition: Pretty good considering your alternatives. The overall calorie count on many of the Subway subs are going to be a better choice than a Whopper any day. And, you have the option of getting some veggies in your sandwich too.

 Allergen alert: While Subway has been very proactive in providing allergen info on their sandwiches, they failed to take into consideration cross contamination. I experienced this first hand after having a reaction after eating at a Subway restaurant. I was careful about selecting my menu items, but did not consider cross contamination. I know, what was I thinking? Oh well, hopefully you won’t make the same mistake I did.

 After I had my reaction, I called and emailed Subway customer service and explained the problem. I was assured that someone would contact me back. The owner of a few Subway locations near my home called me today. We actually had a very productive conversation and she was able to give me some great info. She even agreed that the nutritional info was misleading and gave me contact info for headquarters, where she suggested I encourage Subway execs to add disclaimer info to their advertising regarding these risks.

 Here are the problems we identified:

•  All the foods are in open bins and any food could potentially drop into another bin.
• Workers wear gloves while making sandwiches, but do not change them between orders. This is probably how I got sick.
• The knives used to slice the sandwiches are not cleaned in-between sandwiches.
• Breads containing cheese are baked with other breads. This is not a likely contaminant, but worth a mention.

 The bottom line: If you do not have severe, anaphylactic allergies, you should be ok. If you are severe (like I am), use extreme caution. If you choose to eat there regardless, here are some tips to make your visit a safe one:

•    Ask the worker behind the counter to change their gloves.
•     Ask them to refrain from cutting your sandwich.
•     Check their online nutritional info as a guideline.