Mis-leading ‘smoke and mirrors’ labelling on food and drinks products is my absolute bugbear and it is rife. The terms ‘low sugar’ and ’no added sugar’ are bandied about, but it’s usually difficult to figure out exactly what these mean and whether these products are as virtuous as they sound. Just how low is low/reduced? Also ’No added sugar’ often means products are filled with artificial sweeteners to compensate.
Low sugar and low salt ketchup
Ketchup is generally renowned for being laden with both salt and sugar. This has led to lots of reduced/low versions coming onto the market. At the end of last year, M&S launched its ‘Reduced Sugar Ketchup’. At just £1.00 for a 495g bottle this, on the face of it, appears a great healthier option. However, on closer inspection you can see that this ‘reduced’ option offers just 1.1g less sugar than Heinz’s regular tomato ketchup and contains just 0.42g less salt.
By the way, the British Heart Foundation has written a really good guide to the hidden health hazards in our food including ketchup and other favourites such as brown sauce, soy sauce, pesto and mayonnaise: How much sugar, salt and fat are in your sauces?
Real Good Tomato Ketchup
We were sent samples of Real Good Tomato Ketchup to try. This product is 100% natural with no added sugar and crucially no artificial sweeteners. It has 75% less sugar and 83% less salt than Heinz’s regular ketchup and 74% less sugar and 79% less salt than M&S’s Reduced Sugar Ketchup.
In a nutshell:
- No added sugar
- No artificial sweeteners
- Natural, plant-based ingredients, vegan
- Free from 14 top-listed allergens
- Over 80% less salt
- Award winning taste
- World Food Innovation Award Winner
- Recyclable packaging and powered by renewable energy
The taste test
I am not a fan of ketchup myself, but the rest of the family are huge fans so I left them to do the taste testing. Our go to is Heinz, but I’m always looking for healthier options, which don’t compromise on taste so I was very interested to see what they thought. For last night’s dinner I made fishcakes, which my children always slather with ketchup!
The first observation was that the consistency was a little more like tomato puree than our usual brand. In terms of flavour they said that it tasted exactly like Heinz just ‘a little more tomatoey’ (I take this to be a big plus!). They all said that it tasted perfectly sweet so were amazed that it contained no added sugar.
The verdict: They loved this product and have said that they would like me to buy this brand going forward as it tastes exactly how they want it to taste and is healthier. Winner!
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Real Good Tomato Ketchup is available to buy at Ocado, Wholefoods Market London stores, selected Co-ops & health food shops.
Check out some of Real Good’s recipes here.
