Campbell’s Spaghetti-Oh Oh’s [Inside the Label]

Posted: 21 Jun 2010 04:52 AM PDT 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.