Canned and prepared soups are a sodium landmine many consumers have stepped into inadvertently over the years. But as more and more of us need to cut back on sodium intake, soup makers have been working overtime to find a solution.

The problem with canned soups is that they taste bland to begin with. Salt is added for two reasons – 1) it is a cheap preservative that lengthens the product shelf life and 2) it is a cheap way to enhance the product’s flavor.

Lower the salt content, and the soup tastes bad. No buyers. What’s a multi-billion corporation to do?

Campbell’s Soup company is now claiming it has maintained its good taste AND reduced the sodium level in it soups by 32% and more through smart formulation. Here’s a piece from a company press release last month:

In the wellness arena, Campbell’s iconic Tomato soup, which is enjoyed by 25 million Americans at least once a week, will feature the same great taste with a major sodium reduction of 32 percent to 480 mg per serving. Campbell will reposition “Healthy Request” soups in the heart health space by further reducing the sodium levels to 410 mg per serving and featuring the American Heart Association certification on a redesigned label. Both products will be available in September.

It’s interesting to learn how Campbell’s managed such a reduction in sodium without sacrificing taste.

According to the company, they are using a proprietary kind of sea salt with less sodium, as well as additional tinkering with the ingredients. Last time we took chemistry 101, salt is 40% sodium, 60% chloride. Additional minerals found in sea salt add up to less than 1%. So we’ll have to keep guessing for now what really changed.

For more information on the new soups and a taste verdict, there’s a good writeup by Jennifer LaRue Huget over at the Washington Post.

What to do at the supermarket:

If you can’t / won’t prepare soup at home, look for the low sodium products in the soup aisle. They should have less than 500mg of sodium per serving.

If the soup tastes bland, you can always shake some salt onto your serving at home.

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We hate the term “Food for Kids”. Kids can eat and thrive on adult food. And they should. Food companies disagree, and peddle thousands of items dedicated to our children. Most are not the best nutritional bet, to say the least.

Time magazine has compiled a list of nine particular kiddie no-nos:

What you need to know:

Parents that put a bit of effort in deciphering what’s in kid specific foods discover more sugar and more food colorings relative to the equivalent adult food. Breakfast cereals are a perfect example.

Kid foods are more about marketing than nutrition or health. Up to fifty years ago, children grew up fine and dandy eating grown up fare. But as food companies looked for ways to grow revenues, they began to extend existing and create new brands to attract a loyal following from an early age. Every beginning marketer knows that you need to get ‘em while they’re young and impressionable.

What to do at the supermarket:

If you’re shopping with your kids, let them choose a snack or two according to their personal preference. But you chose the rest of the foods, passing on all the kid focused, superhero decorated, colorful packages that are nutritionally inferior to similar adult food.

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Image: Campbell Soup Company

Last week, Campbell Soup Company reintroduced 12 of its popular canned soups for children, reformulated to be considered healthy by FDA standards:

…12 Campbell’s® Kids soups, reformulated to contain 480 milligrams of sodium per serving.

Now popular favorites [...] meet the government criteria for “healthy” foods – controlled for fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium and being a good source of a positive nutrient like vitamin A.

The newly-reformulated soups are the latest to come to market as part of Campbell’s ongoing commitment to wellness, for a total of 78 soups in the portfolio at the healthy levels for sodium. By leveraging a combination of unique, lower sodium natural sea salt and expertise in flavor design, Campbell has been able to deliver lower sodium options without sacrificing taste.

Read the Press Release…

What you need to know:

For years, using salt was a cheap and easy way for manufacturers to mask the canned flavor of commercial soups. However, due to high levels of consumption, salt is now recognized as a serious threat to public health. Americans consume almost twice the recommended daily allowance of 2400mg (a teaspoon) a day. This leads to high blood pressure and related ailments.

Reducing salt is a good move by Campbell’s, in line with its strategy to refurbish a tarnished image of canned soup as a mega warehouse for MSG and sodium.

Taking for example, the Disney Princess Pasta Shapes soup, Campbell’s has reduced sodium from 580mg to 480mg per serving, and eliminated monosodium glutamate completely.

However, the bit about unique, lower sodium natural sea salt is marketing hype. There is no nutritional difference between sea salt and regular salt (derived from rock salt mineral deposits). True, the flavor may slightly differ when shaken on to food, due to tiny amounts of additional minerals found in sea salt. But the amount of sodium is the same.

Also in the reformulation, the calorie count actually went up from 70 to 80 calories per serving, but this is negligible.

What to do at the supermarket:

Thinking about making your own soup but afraid to try? Soup is actually one of the easiest foods to prepare because it is very tolerant to mistakes by beginners. Scoot on over to the produce section and get some carrots, celery, pumpkin, zucchini, and onions. At home, wash, peel, dice, and throw into a pot of boiling water. Let cook for a few hours, add pepper and salt, and your soup is ready. Much tastier than canned soup, and guaranteed to contain less sodium.

OK, this week you don’t have time. In this case, look for soups with a reduced sodium level, preferably 480mg or less per serving.

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Image via Wikipedia

We recently wrote about the soup war raging between Campbell’s and Progresso. Could the following be another battle for consumer mindshare?

Campbell Soup Company has reformulated its product line specifically for schools, lowering salt and fat content to meet the nutrition standards of an alliance set up to fight childhood obesity. Campbell Soup Company announced this week that their Foodservice division will provide healthier reformulated soups and snacks to schools. Some soups got cheaper too. Here’s a rundown of the healthier products:

* lower-sodium Campbell’s Chicken & Stars soup
* lower-sodium versions of Campbell’s Vegetarian Vegetable Alphabet
* Campbell’s Mega Noodle soup
* four varieties of Campbell’s Healthy Request soups
* Goldfish Snack Crackers in Cheddar, Parmesan and Whole Grain Cheddar
* Flavor Blasted Goldfish Snack Crackers in Kickin’ Ranch and Hot and Spicy Cheddar
* Giant Goldfish Grahams in Chocolate and Cinnamon
* Goldfish Physedibles(R) Animal Crackers in Strawberry, Lemon and Vanilla

According to Campbell’s, The reformulation meets nutrition standards of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation – a partnership of the American Heart Association and The William J Clinton Foundation (President Clinton) – which is fighting childhood obesity. The soups have less than 480mg of sodium per serving (at the supermarket sodium levels can be twice as high). And of course, no MSG.

What to do at the supermarket:

Unfortunately these 50oz supersize soup packs are only sold to schools and organizations. Hopefully Campbell’s will expand their health drive to adults as well. At the supermarket, do look for low sodium alternatives when visiting the soup aisle. And if you can, try to make your own soup at home, where you control how much salt goes in.

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