Subway will now measure sandwich bread following 'footlong' lawsuit

Subway agrees to measure its footlong subs to ensure that they're actually a foot long. (Subway)

Subway customers will soon no longer have to worry if their footlong sandwiches really measure up.

The sandwich chain has agreed to measure its 6-inch and 12-inch subs as part of a settlement agreement to a 2013 lawsuit that accused the chain of making its sandwiches shorter than advertised, according to the industry publication Nation’s Restaurant News.

Two years ago, Australian Matt Corby posted a picture of a Subway sandwich on Facebook with a ruler on top showing that the sandwich barely stretched 11 inches. The photo went viral and eventually prompted a class-action lawsuit.

As part of the settlement proposal Monday, Subway will provide new training materials with amended franchisee protocols “which had previously allowed for a small tolerance in the size of a footlong sandwich” to mandate that sandwiches must measure the full 12 inches.

Subway will also begin compliance inspections to ensure restaurants are following the guidelines, and enact stricter penalties to locations that fail to meet the new bread standards.

A hearing for final approval of the terms has been set for Jan. 2016 and, in addition to peace of mind on the sandwich length issue, plaintiffs could be awarded up to $1,000 in payments as well as coverage of the $525,000 in legal fees.