Free Subway sandwich: Subway’s new menu launches with 1 million free sub giveaway Tuesday

Free Subway subs are just one of the many freebies available Tuesday.

It’s also National French Fry Day with restaurants like McDonald’s, Wendy’s and more giving out free fries and IHOP has a 58-cent pancake deal.

More than 10,000 Subway restaurants nationwide closed early Monday to prepare for Tuesday’s free sub giveaway and the restaurant chain's menu change.

From 10 a.m. to noon local time Tuesday, participating Subway restaurants will give away up to 1 million free subs with the first 50 customers at each location getting a free six-inch Turkey Cali Fresh sub when they ask for the free sub. No additional discounts or coupons will be applied, according to the fine print.

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The Turkey Cali Fresh subs include oven-roasted turkey, hickory-smoked bacon, smashed avocado, mozzarella, mayo, spinach, red onion and tomatoes on one of Subway's new breads, Hearty Multigrain.

The Eat Fresh Refresh has more than 20 menu updates and includes 11 new or improved ingredients, six all-new or returning sandwiches and four revamped signature sandwiches.

Trevor Haynes, Subway's president of North America, said in a statement that the company has been "serving freshly made, customizable and better-for-you sandwiches for more than 50 years, and we wanted to give our guests more new and improved flavors."

Haynes said the chain's new team has made updates to the entire core menu.

"The Eat Fresh Refresh makes Subway better than ever with freshly made, craveable and delicious sandwiches to excite new and returning guests," Haynes said.

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No change in Subway's tuna

Subway says its tuna fish will not be changing as part of the revamped menu.

"While many of Subway's core protein choices were improved as part of the Eat Fresh Refresh, one ingredient that doesn't need an upgrade is the Subway high-quality, premium tuna," the chain said in the release.

The tuna has been the subject of a class-action lawsuit filed in January that alleged its tuna salad contains no actual tuna salad. Meanwhile, a recent New York Times investigation found no tuna DNA in a test.

Subway has said it has disagreed with the paper's findings and says in a statement on its website that "DNA testing is simply not a reliable way to identify denatured proteins, like Subway’s tuna, which was cooked before it was tested."

In talking about the new menu, Subway said it "sources tuna from leading global food suppliers ... The 100% wild-caught tuna remains a fan favorite among sub lovers."

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Follow USA TODAY reporter Kelly Tyko on Twitter: @KellyTyko. For more shopping tips and deals, join us on our Shopping Ninjas Facebook group.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Subway free subs: New Eat Fresh Refresh menu launches with freebie