Good ol’ ketchup! America’s condiment of choice for everything from fries to burgers to eggs. What could be so bad about a product made out of tomatoes?!?! Have you read the nutrition facts? Lets take a quick look…
1. What’s With The Corn Syrup?!
Ingredients lists are required to be written in the order from the ingredient that the product contains the most of to the one it contains the least of. So, for example, Heinz Ketchup has more tomato concentrate from red ripe tomatoes than it does corn syrup (which, if it were true, would be a plus!). You will get my cynicism in a minute… Here’s the full list of ingredients from highest to lowest amounts:
- Tomato Concentrate From Red Ripe Tomatoes
- Distilled Vinegar
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Corn Syrup
- Salt
- Spice
- Onion Powder
- Natural Flavoring
Does anything strike you as odd about that list? Why is corn syrup listed twice – as “high fructose corn syrup” and again as “corn syrup?” Well that is most likely done for two reasons. One, it tricks you into thinking that somehow “corn syrup” is healthier than “high fructose corn syrup.” And second, if they would combine the amount of both corn syrups into one ingredient, it may very well appear higher up on the list. In fact, maybe the quantity of both corn syrups combined is greater than even the amount of tomato concentrate!
But we are just getting started… wait until you see what the nutrition facts reveal on the next page…
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