Those bright and friendly colors that bring joy to your child as she slurps down a drinkable yogurt or mixes Froot Loops with some milk are actually dangerous poisons. Or at least have the potential to wreak various forms of damage to your child – starting from neurological issues and all the way to cancer. These accusations, in yesterday’s press release and research report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a non-profit consumer watchdog organization.

The report Food Dyes – A Rainbow of Risks [download PDF] reviews the risks that have been known for quite some time:

Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 have long been known to cause allergic reactions in some people. CSPI says that while those reactions are not common, they can be serious and provide reason enough to ban those dyes. Furthermore, numerous studies have demonstrated that dyes cause hyperactivity in children.

Tests on lab animals of Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 showed signs of causing cancer …

Yellow 5 also caused mutations, an indication of possible carcinogenicity, in six of 11 tests…

In addition, according to the report, FDA tests show that the three most-widely used dyes, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, are tainted with low levels of cancer-causing compounds, including benzidine and 4-aminobiphenyl in Yellow 5.

What you need to know:

Once upon a time, there were no food colorings. Then folks figured out that food looks better and sells more when it can be enlivened through dyes. For most of food history, the dyes were from natural sources – beet juice for red, turmeric for yellow,etc..

However, in the quest to maximize profit by lowering costs, artificial (and much cheaper) dyes were introduced to market.

Now if the artificial colors were only in candy, parents could worry a bit less. The problem is that the dyes have found their way into so many foods that the levels ingested every day have skyrocketed in recent decades.

Why did the FDA approved these artificial colorings? Because the risk has not been proven sufficiently. In other countries, additives are approved only after safety HAS BEEN proven. Innocent until proven guilty is the US approach to crime, but in the case of dangerous chemicals, shouldn’t we take more precaution and assume guilty until proven innocent?

In Europe, federal agencies have been pressuring the food industry to phase out some of the artificial colors. One example is by requiring warning notices on foods with artificial dyes. Can you imagine Twinkies with a warning label “contains Red #40 and Yellow #5. May cause cancer”?

Don’t hold your breath.

What to do at the supermarket:

In the meantime, scan ingredient lists of cereals, yogurts, cakes, snacks, soups, meats, and virtually any processed product for the colorings in the image above. If you see them, move on to an alternative product. If a product is too bright and colorful, and it’s not a fresh fruit or veggie, be suspicious.

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Several readers responded to yesterday’s post about Pepperidge Farm’s Goldfish crackers, suggesting Annie’s Bunnies as a healthier alternative. We decided to take a look. Annie’s products are all sweetened crackers, so we chose to compare the 2 most similar products – chocolate graham crackers.

Here’s what’s Annie’s has to say about their Chocolate Bunny Grahams:

Excellent Source of Calcium
Vegan
No Cholesterol
No Saturated Fat
Whole Grain – 8g or more per serving
Made with Organic Wheat

Goldfish boasts a shorter list:

Made with whole grain.
No artificial flavors or preservatives.

What you need to know:

These are sweet snacks, more like cookies than crackers. If you prefer a low sugar snack, go for the original baked Goldfish (only 1 gram of sugar – quarter teaspoon). Annie’s does not have a comparable product.

Before we begin: A 1 ounce serving of Goldfish is 25 cents. A one ounce serving of bunnies is 62 cents!

Annie’s ingredients:

ORGANIC WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT FLOUR, ORGANIC WHEAT FLOUR, ORGANIC CANE SUGAR, EXPELLER PRESSED VEGETABLE OIL (SAFFLOWER AND/OR SUNFLOWER), ORGANIC CANE SYRUP, ORGANIC GRAHAM FLOUR, NATURAL AND ALKALIZED COCOA, CALCIUM CARBONATE, SEA SALT, BAKING SODA, NATURAL VANILLA AND CHOCOLATE FLAVOR.

Goldfish ingredients:

Whole Grain Wheat Flour, Unbleached Enriched Wheat Flour [Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid], Sugar, Vegetable Oils (Interesterified and Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Hydrogenated Cottonseed), Nonfat Milk, Cocoa Processed with Alkali (Dutched), Invert Sugar, Semi Sweet Chocolate Powder (Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Dextrose), Contains 2 Percent or Less of: Leavening [Baking Soda, Baking Powder (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda, Cornstarch, Monocalcium Phosphate)], Salt, Corn Syrup Solids, Natural Flavor and Soy Lecithin.

The lists are somewhat similar in the main components – wheat, sugar, chocolate. Annie’s includes organic versions of wheat and sugar. If you’re an organic aficionado, go for it.  For many people the price difference in this case makes no sense. It’s not like buying organic strawberries without pesticides. Choose your battles…

Annie’s is vegan, forgoing milk, whereas Goldfish does use some. The milk adds 2 grams of saturated fat per serving (10% of the daily max).

Both brands boast whole wheat, but both are not 100% whole wheat. Both state refined wheat as the second ingredient.

The two ingredient lists do show a difference in approach to food processing. Annie’s uses ingredients as if a person would be baking the cracker at home. But Goldfish is much more industrial – hydrogenated oils (NOT partially hydrogenated, we hope), corn syrup solids, soy lecithin, and mysterious natural flavors.

Despite this, the nutrition facts panel on both products is similar. Approximately 140 calories per serving for both. Bunnies have 2 tsp of sugar per serving with 1 gram of fiber, whereas goldfish have 2.5 tsp of sugar with 2 grams of fiber .

The calcium in the bunnies is added as an ingredient,  not inherently present in one of the core ingredients (wheat, chocolate), so by our book Annie’s is playing a marketing game to promote a sugary snack as an “excellent source of calcium”. Tsk, tsk, aren’t the organic brands held to higher ethical standards?

On the sodium front, the bunnies have 90 mg or 4% of the daily maximum. Goldfish have twice that number. Not great, but not a huge number.

Summary: Overall, Annie’s is less processed and has better nutrition. But the difference between these two is not that concerning, as there are far worse options than either of these two.

What to do at the supermarket:

The plain goldfish has less sugar than both aforementioned snacks, and would be a better choice. If you are looking at other cracker options, think about the whole wheat options and check their fiber content. Stay away from partially hydrogenated oils. Look for low sodium too, as many crackers pack in a lot of salt.

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Pepperidge Farm is considered a high end baked goods company with awesome cookies, crackers, and for kids – Goldfish. Almost all tots will recognize the fish shaped finger food and happily munch away. What started as a single product, baked cracker, has expanded over the years to other flavors, colors, and ingredients. Only the fish shape stays the same.

But how nutritious are these fish for our kids? Are there any ingredients we should watch out for? We took a look at the nutrition labels and ingredient lists to find out…

What you need to know:

A serving of goldfish is 55 pieces, which seems quite a lot for toddlers, but definitely doable for preschoolers and up. At 140 calories, it’s not a very light snack, but not a huge one either. If you are worried about weight, there are 100 calorie packages you can buy.

The sugar count is very low (hey, it’s  cracker), but the sodium is high – 230-250mg (about 10-11% of the daily value for healthy adults).

There’s barely any fiber (less than 1 gram) because the flour used here is refined, not whole grain. You could opt for a version of Goldfish made with some whole grain. That gets you up to 2 grams of fiber. Meh.

The original product has a fairly simple ingredient list:

Made with Smiles and Unbleached Enriched Wheat Flour [Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid], Vegetable Oils (Canola, Sunflower and/or Soybean), Nonfat Milk (Adds a Trivial Amount of Cholesterol), Salt, Contains 2 Percent or Less of: Yeast, Leavening (Ammonium Bicarbonate, Baking Soda, Monocalcium Phosphate), Sugar, Spices and Onion Powder.

Flour, oil, milk, salt, leavening, sugar and spices. Stuff most people who bake have at home. That’s a good thing.

The cheddar flavored product is nutritionally similar and adds cheddar cheese to the ingredient list. Some kids like it’s bite a bit more than the original, others don’t.

In keeping with the tradition of food industry success stories, Pepperidge Farm couldn’t stop at one or two products. More market share! More sales! And thus were invented some novel brand extensions. Here are 2 examples.

Definitely do not buy the RAINBOW version of Goldfish, as the colors all come from artificial dyes:

Blue 2, Red 40, Red 3,  and Blue 1.

Artificial colors are considered safe to consume by the FDA, but some countries in Europe are phasing them out due to concerns about neurological effect on children. You should try to minimize your kids’ exposure to them, especially in product categories where they have no reason to be in the first place.

The Garden-Cheddar, a “veggie-infused” product introduced last summer, claims to provide a third of a serving of vegetables that kids so sorely need.  Here’s the ingredient list:

Made with Smiles and Unbleached Enriched Wheat Flour (Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid), Cornstarch, Cheddar Cheese [(Pasteurized Cultures Milk, Salt, Enzymes), Annatto], Dehydrated Vegetable Blend (Split Pea, Carrot, Tomato, Sweet Potato, Cornstarch, Maltodextrin, Soy Lecithin), Vegetable Oils (Canola, Sunflower and/or Soybean), Wheat Gluten, Dehydrated Potatoes, Contains 2 Percent or Less of: Salt, Yeast, Maltodextrin, Autolyzed Yeast, Leavening (Ammonium Bicarbonate, Baking Soda, Monocalcium Phosphate), Yellow Corn Flour, Lactic Acid, Onion Powder, Paprika, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Natural Butter Flavor, Garlic Powder, Spices, Buttermilk, Sodium Phosphate, Calcium Lactate, Citric Acid, and Spice Extract.

Look at all the added ingredients. Can’t we just send the kid to school with 3 baby carrots and a handful of cherry tomatoes? We officially call bullshit on this veggie-in-the-snack marketing tactic.

Mintel, a consumer research company said that the veggie crackers are part of a “stealth health” trend that has been growing for years in cookies, crackers, chips and fruit snacks. The idea of sneaking those healthy ingredients in so that your kids won’t know the difference is becoming very popular.

Bottom line: The original baked goldfish crackers are a decent snack. The whole wheat variation, too. Some of the other inventions – NOT.

What to do at the supermarket:

When looking for snack crackers, keep your eyes on the ingredient list and look for partially hydrogenated oils (trans fat). If you spot any (Ritz), move on. Sodium content can be very high, try to stay under the 230mg (10% dv) number. Whole wheat options are better where possible. No artificial colors, save your allowance for candy.

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Kellogg’s announced on Friday it is recalling millions of boxes of cereal boxes due to “an uncharacteristic off-flavor and smell coming from the liner in the package.”

The recalled products are certain boxes of Froot Loops, Corn Pops, Apple Jacks, and Honey Smacks. So far, no consumer is known to have been affected, which made the bad-news-is-best-released-on-weekends recall press release quite convenient.

Not that recalling these products is a bad thing. All 4 cereals, targeted squarely at kids, are loaded with sugar, and will not be missed by health and nutrition minded consumers. Each serving of cereal contains at least 3 teaspoons of sugar. Some also include trans-fat (!) and artificial colors.

All 4 cereals include BHT as the last ingredient, “to preserve freshness”. BHT, Butylated hydroxytoluene, is an antioxidant preservative that can lengthen the shelf life of a product. There is some controversy around its safety, with reports of hyperactivity and carcinogenic properties.

Could the millions of recalled boxes have been treated with too much or too little BHT? Was it something else that found its way into the packaging? We’ll let you know if we find out.

What to do at the supermarket:

When buying cereal, look for less than 6 grams of sugar, at least 3 grams of fiber, and no artificial colors or partially hydrogenated oils.

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Shocking or not, 90% of Americans consume sodium in amounts that are above their healthy daily limit. These finding were published earlier this week in the Center for Disease Control’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

Salt has become some pervasive in the average American’s food supply that it is becoming almost impossible to avoid it. And with 70% of our salt coming from processed foods, plugging your salt shaker’s holes won’t help.

The daily recommended maximum for sodium consumption for healthy adults is 2300 milligrams. That works out to a teaspoon of salt  a day. However, 70% of adults should be consuming 1500 milligrams or less. Sadly, 100,000 people die every year because of health problems such as hypertension that could have been avoided or lessened with a decrease in sodium consumption.

Obviously we should try to prepare more food at home. But even staples that most home cooks buy can contain surprisingly high amounts of sodium. Bread, breakfast cereal, ketchup, pickles, olives, raw meats and condiments can be found in homes of people that prepare meals daily. Unfortunately, many don’t realize that salt lurks in foods that don’t necessarily taste salty.

What to do at the supermarket:

While the food industry is slowly starting to make reductions in salt content of some products, you should make it a habit to look up the sodium content in the nutrition facts panel, just like you do for calories.

Bread should come with less than 200mg per 2 slice serving, soups with less than 500mg, cereals with less than 150mg. Prepared meals are the most dangerous, they should contain no more than 600mg.

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We recently interviewed Karen Ansel, a New York based dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association about trends in the nutrition field. Today, more nutrition Q&A with Maya Nahra RD, LD, of Phoenix AZ. Maya practices holistic nutrition and is not an ADA spokesperson. (If these posts interest you, we may start doing some more interviews with nutrition professionals.)

[Fooducate] What are your clients’ biggest challenges when they walk into a supermarket?

[MN] The (health) claims. When a client wants to improve their diet, they go to the grocery store and see ‘fat free,’ sugar-free,’ ‘heart healthy,’ etc. Manufacturers are clever, they work their way around the fine print to ‘improve’ their product making it more appealing to that shopper. What that shopper doesn’t know is that they may have added worse ingredients in placement of say the fat (re: your sour cream post example) or added lab made, non-calorie sweetener in place of real sugar (raw sugar, agave, honey, etc). In the end, the shopper thinks they are doing good for themselves by buying these products. I feel as though many times with clients that I am re-training them against these claims, re-iterating the important of the ingredient list vs the nutrition fact label, and defending the real, pure food way.

[Fooducate] What’s different about holistic nutrition vs. regular nutrition?

[MN] Holistic nutrition takes into account everything regular, science based nutrition does with a heavier emphasis on the intuitive, mind-body approach. According to the Dietitians in Integrative and Functional Medicine website Holistic nutrition is defined as such:

Integrative Medicine is patient centered, healing oriented, and embraces conventional and complementary therapies. It represents a broader paradigm of medicine than the dominant biomedical model. It was driven initially by consumer demand and is now increasingly accepted by health care providers and institutions. Integrative Medicine reaffirms the importance of the therapeutic relationship, a focus on the whole person and lifestyle, a renewed attention to healing and a willingness to use all appropriate therapeutic approaches whether they originate in conventional or alternative medicine.

Simply stated, RDs in holistic nutrition take into account personal uniqueness while looking at the whole picture of health, exploring root causes of habits to maximize lasting change. Each RD who practices this way is a bit different themselves in that they have different specialties i.e. Ayurvedic Medicine, meditation, mind-body approach, etc. (You can view my personal outlook of holistic nutrition here.

Just as your blog does, we question regular nutrition, looking beyond the claims and many times using what we know instinctively to be true in practice.

[Fooducate] How can the ADA become a bit more hip and communicative with the general public?

[MN] I’m sure we all have our own opinions on this. ADA, underlying, has a wonderful, important message to proclaim to the world: Eat well to be well! Having gone through the extensive education, the nuts and bolts have taught dietitians how food affects the body right down to the very DNA. When I have a client who eats fast food 5 times a week and doesn’t own a pan to cook in, the nuts and bolts get confusing. Simplification may very well be the answer to a more hip and communicative ADA.

[Fooducate] What are some creative ways to circumvent sponsorship conflict of interest?

[MN] We can move away from the thought that bigger is better. The annual meetings held are expensive. By no means do I hold the ADA budget but what I do know is that I would not be opposed to holding smaller, local meetings or bringing my own lunch or dinner to a seminar. I wouldn’t mind having slides printed out in front of me instead of big fancy power point screens. Again, a return to a simpler way….

[Fooducate] How can more men be attracted to the field of nutrition? [MN] I do believe you hit the nail on the head about the pay scale and the non ‘meat and potato’ appeal. Let’s face it, we’re not making millions in this field, but we sure to love what we do! On a small side note, I believe the nature of a woman is nurturing in general. In nutrition, we counsel, we practice habit changes, and we spend lots of time before we see our ROI. Men can indeed be this way too, however societal pressures may push them to do otherwise. I believe as our world is changing now more than ever, we will see more men in the field.

Maya Nahra is a registered, licensed dietitian, freelance writer, certified Synergia practitioner, and holistic life coach. She received her education in Nutrition and Dietetics from St. Louis University in Missouri. Maya is owner of Pure Nutrition (www.AskTheRD.com), a holistic private practice based in Phoenix, AZ. She has helped clients reconnect with themselves, and their planet, through food for over 5 years.

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Last week, ConAgra, a huge food conglomerate, recalled 800,000 units of Marie Callender’s Cheesy Chicken and Rice Frozen Entrées. The fear – a salmonella infection that has spread to 14 states. Recalls happen every once in a while, and we’ve written about them in the past.

In today’s post we won’t talk food safety, but rather take this recall as an opportunity to look at what’s inside each box of convenience food, from a nutritional perspective.

What you need to know:

Each package is a single serving weighing in at 13 oz. That’s a nice portion! It’s 460 calories, with 9 grams of saturated fat (46% of the daily max).The 33 grams of protein are very filling (a half day’s worth).

But we are very concerned with sodium. At 1330mg, we’re talking more than 57% of the daily maximum of 2300mg. If you need to be on a low sodium diet of 1500mg a day, you’ll spend almost all your allowance on this single dish.

The ingredient list mention salt 4 times:

Cooked White and Wild Rice, Broccoli, Cooked Chicken (White Meat Chicken, Water, Modified Rice Starch, Isolated Soy Protein, Salt, Sodium Phosphate), Water, Pasteurized Processed Cheese Spread (American Cheese [Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes], Water, Whey, Sodium Phosphate, Whey Protein Concentrate, Skim Milk, Milkfat, Salt, Artificial Color), Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes, Annatto), Mushrooms, Onion, Contains 2% of Less of: Nonfat Dry Milk, Butter, Modified Corn Starch, Soybean Oil, Salt, Citric Acid, Annatto Extract, Spice, Beta Carotene (Corn Oil, Beta Carotene).

You can see that the salt is used in a variety of tasks: to keep the cooked chicken moist, as part of the cheeslike spread, and added for flavor to the overall dish.

The nice orange-yellow color of the cheese comes from Annatto, so why add more artificial color (underlined).

The front of package (see picture) boasts a USDA Food Pyramid accompanied with some encouraging numbers: 25% of daily grains. 30% of daily vegetables. 30% of daily milk. 35% of daily meat.

Too bad there’s no extra mention of the excess salt- “57% of daily sodium”.

What to do at the supermarket:

Best to prepare your own dinner dishes. If you must buy prepared foods, look for sodium values lower than 600mg per serving.

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“McDonald’s is the stranger in the playground handing out candy to children.” These harsh words are part of an ultimatum that CSPI, a consumer advocacy group, has sent to McDonald’s in a bid to stop the habit of pairing kiddie sized junk food meals with irresistible toys. And not just any toys, the most timely branded characters children love so much from recent movies.

“McDonald’s use of toys undercuts parental authority and exploits young children’s developmental immaturity—all this to induce children to prefer foods that may harm their health. It’s a creepy and predatory practice that warrants an injunction.” read more…

Happy Meals were introduced in the late 1970′s to promote McDonald’s as a restaurant for families, specifically those with smaller children. The first toy / movie tie in was Star Trek in 1979. And the rest is history.

If a happy meal was anything children really needed to eat, there would not be any uproar. But unfortunately we’re talking about a product with too much fat, salt and sugar, setting kids up for a lifetime of bad eating habits:

Of the 24 possible Happy Meal combinations that McDonald’s describes on its web site, all exceed 430 calories (430 is one-third of the 1,300- calorie recommended daily intake for children 4 to 8 years old). A Happy Meal of a cheeseburger, French fries, and Sprite has half a day’s calories and saturated fat (640 and 7 grams, respectively), about 940 milligrams of sodium, and about two days’ worth of sugar (35 grams).

From a parental perspective, Happy Meals are a pain in the ass. Kids can nag you for days about a certain toy that they must get to complete the set. You buy the meal and the kids get their toy, which either breaks or is lost within 48 hours. So yes, kill the happy meal, and not just because of the crappy food. That and the tiny toy surprises in Kinder Bueno Chocolate Eggs.

By the way, Santa Clara county, California, banned Happy Meals last month.

It will be interesting to follow how McDonald’s reacts to CSPI’s demands and if the lawsuit will pan out. What’s sure is that for a few days, people will be talking about the incessant marketing of junk food to kids. If we talk about it enough, perhaps the government will do more about protecting our children.

All this chatter got you hungry for a burger?  Take a look at the one pictured in the following link to guess What’s so special about this Happy Meal?

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Here’s a finding that should come as no surprise to parents who take their kids grocery shopping:

Researchers found that the branding of American food product packaging with characters such as Dora the Explorer drives preschoolers to choose higher-calorie, less healthful foods over more nutritious options.

“The bottom line is that when kids are presented with a choice of graham crackers, fruit snacks or carrots, and the only difference is that one package has a licensed character on it, they actually think that the food with the character tastes better…” read more…

With Toy Story 3 breaking revenue records this past weekend, plus gazillions more that will pour in from DVD, games, and toy merchandising, one has to wonder why they need to make a few millions more in licensing Woody and Buzz to the food industry.

Kellogg’s is out with Toy Story 3 fruit flavored snacks, a concoction that’s “made with real fruit” but whose first 2 ingredients are corn syrup and sugar. It’s also got lots of artificial colorings that, due to potentially averse effect on kids cognitive abilities, are being phased out in Europe, but not here. The “real fruit” comes from apple puree concentrate, which is basically all the sugar from the apple without the benefit of the fiber.

We have no problem with kids having treats. But using movie characters to sell candy while at the same time assuring parents it’s “healthy” because of the fruit, well, that’s just wrong.

Here’s a radical  idea – how about Buzz promoting carrots? The vitamin A is important for your eyesight kiddo, don’t you want to be an astronaut?

What to do at the supermarket:

Don’t let the food and move industry double team you. Set ground rules with your children in advance – 1 treat per child. Any treat they choose, but only one. Even if it’s fake-fruit snacks. Not a perfect solution, but good enough.

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Campbell’s is recalling a large number of it’s signature Spaghettio’s canned spaghetti and meatballs products. Turns out somebody in the factory forgot to turn the oven on and the meatballs have been undercooked. If people just heat the product instead of thoroughly cooking the meat, they may get sick. Hence the recall.

Thank you Campbell’s for your responsible and swift actions. So far there have been no reports of immediate injury.

[Update: Simultaneously, ConAgra is recalling prepared meals from it's Marie Callender line. Unfortunately in this case, Salmonella may have caused illness across 14 states. (thanks Brooke)]

Hey Campbell’s: how about taking the next step and recalling ALL your canned Spaghettio products before they take their toll on additional people’s health? Not because they are undercooked, but because each serving contains a mega-dose of unnecessary salt and high fructose corn syrup, without providing any true nutrition benefits.

What you need to know:

Spaghettio’s is a product “kids love”, according to Campbell’s. No doubt. A one cup serving contains almost 3 teaspoons of added sugar (high fructose corn syrup). Not to mention nearly half the daily maximum for sodium consumption.

Though the one cup serving “Contains a full serving of veggies and grains”, this super processed product is not something your kids should be eating. Think of it, a pasta dish whose first ingredient is water? And the second one too?

here’s the list of ingredients:

WATER, TOMATO PUREE (WATER, TOMATO PASTE), BEEF, ENRICHED MACARONI PRODUCT (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, FERROUS SULFATE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF THE FOLLOWING INGREDIENTS: BREAD CRUMBS (BLEACHED ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR [ENRICHED WITH NIACIN, FERROUS SULFATE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID], DEXTROSE, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF YEAST, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL [SOYBEAN AND/OR COTTONSEED], SALT), SALT, SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, ENZYME MODIFIED CHEDDAR CHEESE (CHEDDAR CHEESE [MILK, CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES], WATER, DISODIUM PHOSPHATE), DEHYDRATED ONIONS, DEHYDRATED GARLIC, BEEF FLAVOR (CONTAINS BEEF STOCK AND SALT), VEGETABLE OIL, ENZYME MODIFIED BUTTER, SPICE EXTRACT, CITRIC ACID, NONFAT DRY MILK

There’s also some trans-fat (partially hydrogenated vegetable oil) to boot.

Come on people, you can do better than eat this. And Campbell’s can too. Enough of this canned madness. Sell folks real food that doesn’t need to be masked by loads of sugar and salt to make it tasty for us and our kids.

What to do at the supermarket:

If you can’t prepare a pasta dish tonight and you have no choice, at minimum buy a prepared meal that is low in sodium (less than 50mg) has little or no added sugars (less the 4 grams/1 teaspoon) and contains no artificial colorings.

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