Summary feedback
Maggi Cup-a-licious Vegetable with Chilli Pepper is a new instant range of Single Serve Soups. It is a vegetable soup with Indian Red Chillies. This soup contains a very high amount of salt at 5.2 gm per 100 gm pack.. The WHO recommends a daily intake of salt between 1-3 grams. In addition it has almost 13 grams of sugar! To put this in perspective, this has as much sugar and more salt than 100 grams of Coke or Pepsi!
It contains Palm oil which we consider safe but some process contaminant issues have been raised recently. The safety authority delivered a scientific report that current levels of glycerol-based process contaminants found in palm oil are a “potential health concern”.
The foodnetindia safety rating for this product:-
foodnetindia safety rating: 3 (On a scale of 1 to 10 from very unsafe to very safe)
The high salt and sugar content in this packaged soup forces us to give it a low safety rating. This could be a health risk for people with a range of health conditions including obesity and hypertension.
foodnetindia wholesomeness rating: 4 (On a scale of 1 to 10 from very unbalanced nutrition profile to excellent nutrition profile)
This packaged soup product cannot be endorsed as part of a healthy diet due to its high sugar and salt content. We recommend that it is eaten in very small quantities and rarely even by healthy people and always as a part of an otherwise wholesome and nutritious diet.
Ingredients of concern in Maggi Cup-a-licious Vegetable with Chilli Pepper
Sugar
This food product does not specify which sugar has been used. This is important because different sugars have different metabolic effects. For example, Sucrose (Cane Sugar) is very different from Fructose (Fruit Sugar). Some foods use high fructose corn syrup which may be harmful in much lower quantities than sucrose. We believe that it is not responsible behaviour for a brand to not clearly state what ingredients have been used.
Salt
High sodium diets have been known to be the cause of high blood pressure, heart disease, etc. The recommended daily intake of salt is between 1-3 grams.
Flavour Enhancer-IN 635 (Disodium 5’-ribonucleotides)
It is a mixture of sodium salts of guanylic and inosinic acid and is used as a flavour enhancer. Guanylates and inosinates do not have the specific umami taste but strongly enhance many other flavours, thereby reducing the amounts of salt or other flavour enhancers needed in a product. It is used in many products. Mainly used in low sodium/salt products and not intended for kids below 12 weeks. Asthmatic people should avoid guanylates and inosinates. As guanylates and inosinates are metabolised to purines, they should be avoided by people suffering from gout. However, the concentrations used are generally so low that no effects are to be expected.
Added Flavours
This food product does not specify which flavours or flavouring substances have been used. The flavours should be specified as some of them have serious side effects and may not be suitable for infants, pregnant women or people who are allergic. We believe that it is not responsible behaviour for a brand to avoid clearly stating what ingredients have been used.
By not specifying what these flavours and substances are, we are forced to consider what they are hiding and why would they be so reluctant to mention what they have used in the food product!
Other ingredients that are in the product but not a major source of concern in our opinion are:
- Edible Starch
- Dehydrated vegetable (10%): Carrot (4%), Peas & Sweet Corn
- Milk Solids
- Dehydrated Tomato Paste solids: tomato paste, Anticaking agent (551) & Salt
- Palm Oil
- Dehydrated Onion
- Maltodextrin,
- Dried parsley (1.5%)
- Mixed Spices
- Red chilli (0.8%)
- Black Pepper (0.8%)
- Dehydrated Garlic
- Acidity Regulator (330)
Disclaimer – The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information. foodnetindia encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.
The ingredients list of the product may have changed since this page was published. Consumers are encouraged to read warnings, labels, ingredient lists, etc.
Replies, if any, from the brand, will be published here ‘As is’