What is the nutrition profile of the USDA-supported Quiznos promotion?

The controversial USDA sponsored beef checkoff ("Beef: It's What's for Dinner") last fall collaborated with the Quiznos fast food restaurant chain to promote a Steakhouse Beef Dip sub sandwich:

“We are excited about our partnership with Quiznos Sub because sandwich shops are one of the fastest growing segments of foodservice, and the beef industry is taking advantage of this growth to sell more beef,” says Sid Sumner, a Bartow, Fla., beef producer who chairs the beef industry’s Joint Foodservice Committee. “Quiznos Sub is the fastest growing sandwich chain in the U.S., and is experiencing phenomenal growth – which makes it a perfect place to promote beef.”

As you know, American consumers' increasing reliance on fast food restaurants is one of several leading suspects in the obesity epidemic, so one might wonder if this is the right sort of thing for USDA to be pushing. One concern is that the very affordability of fast food may encourage overconsumption. Another concern is that fast food leans heavily toward high-meat diets, while the federal government's Dietary Guidelines by contrast encourage more consumption of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lowfat dairy, while simultaneously reducing calories overall. In particular the Dietary Guidelines stand in opposition to high-fat, high-protein, low-carb dietary fads. So consider the price and nutritional positioning of the USDA-sponsored Quiznos promotion:

The Quiznos Steakhouse Beef Dip Sub features tender roast beef smothered in rich French onion sauce, and melted Swiss cheese, served in a toasted Quiznos roll, with a side of beefy, pan roasted au jus. For a limited time, the 6-inch sub sells for $2.99, and the 10-inch sub for $5.49. The Steakhouse Beef Dip is also available on Low Carb Toasty™ Flatbread.

Well, maybe it's not as much of a nutritional disaster as it sounds, right? I followed a link on the Quiznos website, which includes nutrition information for just 3 healthy lowfat sandwiches, but not information for the rest of the product line. Suspiciously, there was no information for the luscious Beef Dip Sub described above. Another link let me fill in personal information in order to request further nutrition information (to my annoyance, there was no privacy policy posted, but I provided the information anyway). I will post a followup if I hear back. Next, I stopped off at a Quiznos shop on my way home from work. No nutrition information was posted on the walls, and the sandwich makers said they could not provide any either. When I asked if there was really no nutrition information, the cashier provided a tear sheet that listed only "net carbs" for low-carb dieters!

Now, I am against Big Brother, and am happy to let Quiznos choose its own ingredients. An informed consumer can then make his or her own choice about what food to eat. But, how can the consumer make an informed choice if Quiznos hides its nutrition profile? In the current public health environment, Quiznos should be ashamed, and its executives should lose sleep over this. And what about USDA and the checkoff board whose speech it claims as the federal government's own position? Is this the right product, the right company, and the right degree of nutritional transparency for a department that claims to deserve the mantle of leadership on federal nutrition guidance?