Subway's latest challenge: Getting out from Jared's shadow

[...] the association of the company's name with crimes that evoke such universal disgust come at a rough juncture for Subway.

[...] at a time when attitudes about the definition of healthy are changing, Subway is trying to convince people about the quality of its food by removing artificial ingredients from its menu.

Companies like having famous representatives because it's a way to make people feel like that they could somehow be more like those individuals — which in the case of Fogle meant losing weight and being able to keep it off.

Subway leaned on Fogle's story for more than 15 years as it more than doubled its locations in the U.S. The pitchman appeared in Subway TV ads as recently as last month, on the day his home was raided by state and federal investigators, according to iSpot.tv, which measures national TV ads.

Julie Carlton, a 28-year-old graduate student who was at a Subway in New York City Wednesday, said she doesn't plan to stop going to the chain because she doesn't think the company is to blame for Fogle's actions.

The company is dealing with changing attitudes about food, with industry executives saying people are paying closer attention to things like ingredients, not just calories or fat.

To keep pace, Subway said in June it would remove artificial ingredients from its food, following similar decisions by others.