Whether it’s because of the way bread rises and how it’s baked or there’s some nefarious conspiracy afoot, perhaps now everyone can simmer down about Subway’s Footlongs not always being in fact, a foot long. Subway is telling the world that honest, guys, we never meant to make a sandwich 11 or 11.5 inches, so please believe us and stop being so cranky. Not in so many words, but that’s the gist.

In a statement addressing the controversial less-than-one-foot Footlongs, Subway said it’s very sorry and this won’t happen again (via the Los Angeles Times):

“We regret any instance where we did not fully deliver on our promise to our customers. We freshly bake our bread throughout the day in our more than 38,000 restaurants in 100 countries worldwide, and we have redoubled our efforts to ensure consistency and correct length in every sandwich we serve. Our commitment remains steadfast to ensure that every Subway Footlong sandwich is 12 inches at each location worldwide.”

This whole thing started when an Australian customer posted a photo of a Footlong that didn’t measure up on Subway’s Facebook page. The outcry was immediate, as fellow customers went around setting their sandwiches against rulers. Two customers even sued Subway last week for what they call misleading claims.

We heard from a former Subway sandwich artist last week who explained that since the ingredients are regulated, you still get the same amount of sandwich. Others wrote in remarking that if the bread comes from frozen loaves and is backed, there could be all manner of size discrepancies depending on the yeast and other baking principles.

Can we put this one to bed now? Because honestly, we’re not sure we can ever face another Footlong again at this point.

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