Tomato Soup Powder: Salt on higher side

Tomato Soup Powder: Salt on higher side

Tomato Soup Powder

Making simple clear soup is easy but a restaurant style consomme, bisque or a creamy soup requires time and master culinary skills. And thus, we rely much on the readymade soup products. But do we know, which brand is good to consume? Here’s a comparison of four major tomato soup brands.

By Ashok Kanchan

India is positioned 16th in the global soup market, with average per capita consumption at about 0.09 Kg volume of about 9.9 kilo tonnes in 2019 and expected to reach 11 kilo tonnes in 2020. Tomato based soup is the most popular flavour in India. With these given facts, there is always an ambiguity about choosing the best food brand-be it a tomato soup. To make it easy for our consumers, we selected four popular brands of tomato soup powder to interpret the nutritional information given in their labels.

Sl. No. Brand Manufacturer / Marketer
1 Bambino Bambino Agro Industries Ltd.
2 Ching’s  Capital Foods Pvt. Ltd.
3 Knorr Hindustan Unilever Ltd.
4 Snac tac

Reliance Retail Ltd.

The Indian Regulation, Food Safety and Standards (Packaging & Labeling) Regulations, 2011 says mandatory nutritional information or nutritional facts per 100gram or 100milli litre or per serving of the product shall be given on the label containing the following information:

(i) Energy value in kilo calories.

(ii) The amounts of protein, carbohydrate (specify quantity of sugar) and fat in gram (g) or ml.

(iii) The amount of any other nutrient for which a nutrition or health claim is made. However, declaration of salt/sodium/fibre or dietary fibre and calcium is not mandatory.

2020 per day Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for Indians

Revised RDA’s 2020documenthas added 5 kg to the ideal body weight of Indians. According to the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN)-2010 report, the ideal weight of an Indian man was 60 kg, and for woman it was 50 kg.  However, the revised 2020 document said the increase in ideal weight was a result of increase in nutritional food intake. The reference height for Indian men and women has also been increased. While it was 5 feet for women and 5 feet 6 inches for men in 2010, it has now been revised to 5 feet 3 inches for women and 5 feet 8 inches for men.

RDA table has been updated and the new table has included carbohydrate while excludedenergy. Thereby,as the ideal weight for man and woman has been changed, requirements of protein, calciumhas been changed as well. However, there is no change in salt requirement. RDA refers to the daily dietary nutrient intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97–98 percent) healthy individuals in a particular life stage and gender group. As per the Report of the Expert Group of National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) of 2020, major changes are as follows:

 

Age Group

 

Category of work

 

Body Wt

 

Protein

 

Carbohydrate

(kg) (gram/day) (gram/day)

 

Men

Sedentary

 

65

 

54.0

 

130

Moderate
Heavy

 

Women

Sedentary

 

55

 

45.7

 

130

Moderate
Heavy
Pregnant woman

 

55

+ 10

 

+9.5

(2ndtrimester)

+22.0

(3rdtrimester)

175

Lactation 0-6m

 

7-12m

+16.9

 

+13.2

200

 

200

Dietary Fibre

Dietary Fibre refers to plant cell wall components that are not digestible by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fiber requirement can be met by adopting a diet that incorporates plant origin foods including fruits, vegetables and grains.

Benefits of a high-fibre diet

  • Normalizes bowel movements. 
  • Helps maintain bowel health. 
  • Lowers cholesterol levels. 
  • Helps control blood sugar levels. 
  • Aids in achieving healthy weight.

The 2020 Report of the Expert Group of National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recommended about 40 gram /2000 kcal has been considered as safe intake.

Per serving carbohydrate, protein and fibre measurement

Sl. No. Brand Carbohydrate Protein Fibre / Dietary Fibre
In one Serving(gram) % of RDA (for man / woman)

In one Serving

(gram)

% RDA for man

In one Serving

(gram)

% RDA (ICMR) Recommendation)
1 Bambino 8.1 6.2 1.3 2.4 1.0 2.5
2 Ching’s  10.4 8.0 0.7 1.3 NM
3 Knorr 9.2 7.1 0.7 1.3 0.5 1.25
4 Snac tac 9.2 7.1 1.1 2.0 NM

NM -Not Mentioned

Key findings

  • We found brand Ching’s with highest declared carbohydrate and the brand Bambino has it lowest.
  • Consuming one serving of Ching’s tomato soup by man/woman implies 8 per cent of his/her daily carbohydraterequirement is met.
  • We found brand Bambino with highest declared protein and it was found lowest in Ching’s and Knorr.
  • Consuming one serving of Snac tac tomato soup by man means 2 per cent of his daily protein requirement is met.
  • Declaration of dietary fibre on the label is not mandatory. We saw brands Bambino and Knorr declared it on their labels. However, we found dietary fibre was higher in Bambino than Knorr.

—————————————————————————————

WHO guidance on dietary salt

Adults should consume less than two grams of sodium, or five grams of salt per day. A person with elevated sodium levels could be at risk of raised blood pressure which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.

——————————————————————————————–

Traffic Light Labeling 

Foods which are high in fat, sugar and salt are linked with obesity and non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and high blood pressure.Food Standards Agency of United Kingdom (U.K.) developed Traffic Light Labeling guidelines to help consumers to:

  • Correctly identify healthier food products.
  • Make comparisons between products easily.
  • Make these comparisons at a glance.

The above labeling system however is not followed in India.

The criteria for foods were set out as follows (per 100-gram food):

Ingredient

Green

(Low content)

Amber

(Medium content)

Red

(High content)

Fat less than or equal 3 gram More than 3 gram to 17.5 gram more than 17.5 gram
Sugar less than or equal 5 gram More than 5 gram to 22.5 gram more than 22.5 gram
Salt less than or equal 0.3 gram More than 0.3 gram to 1.5 gram more than 1.5 gram

Results will be interpreted, which can be easily understood as follows:

Green:  Eat often (Desirable)

Amber: Eat occasionally (Neutral)

Red: Eat sparingly (Undesirable)

Traffic Light Rating 

Sl. No. Brand Fat Sugar Salt

In 100 gram

(gram)

Traffic Light

In 100 gram

(gram)

Traffic

Light

In 100 gram

(gram)

Traffic

Light

Salt per Serve 

(gram)

1 Bambino 6.2 Amber 19.0 Amber 12.2* Red 1.8*
2 Ching’s  3.3 Amber 34.2 Red 11.3* Red 1.5*
3 Knorr 5.7 Amber 35.7 Red 10.1* Red 1.3*
4 Snac tac 4.9 Amber 20.3 Amber NM

 

NM – Not Mentioned

*Sodium multiplied by 2.5

Key findings

  • Traffic light for fat is amber in all brands which means one shall consume all these brands occasionally.
  • Traffic light for sugar is red of brands Ching’ and Knorr. It denotes one shall consume these brands sparingly. Traffic light for sugar is amber for brands Bambino and Snac tac.
  • Declaration of sodium/ salt is not mandatory in nutrition information of labels so only brands Bambino, Ching’s and Knorr have declared this information. In brands that have declared sodium/salt, traffic light is red – means one shall consume them sparingly.
  • Salt is on higher side in all brands. As per the WHO Guidance, consumption of one serving of Bambino tomato soup means one has consumed 36 per cent (more than 1/3) of its daily salt requirement.We found salt was lowest in Knorr brand.

Unit price 

Unit pricing or comparative pricingis a way to show the price of a commodity in relation to a standard unit of measure, such as the kilogram or litre or number. Unit price gives fair idea about cheaper and costlier brands.

Sl. No. Brand

Maximum Retail

Price (MRP)

(Rs.)

Declared Serve Sizes 

(Numbers)

Declared Net Weight on packet

(Gram)

Unit Price

(Price per Serve)

 (Rs)

1 Bambino 60.00

8

(Buy one get one free)

50 7.50
2 Ching’s  55.00 4 55 13.75
3 Knorr 55.00 4 53 13.75
4 Snac tac 49.00 4 60 12.25

Key finding

  • As per the unit price per serving, the cheapest brand is Bambino and the costliest are Ching’s and Knorr.

Related

No Results Found

The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.

Consumer Voice Urges the Prime Minister to Pass Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill 2017 in Upcoming Winter Session of Parliament

Consumer Voice Urges the Prime Minister to Pass Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill 2017 in Upcoming Winter Session of Parliament

India Loses 413 Lives in Road Accidents Every Day in the Absence Of A Strong Road Safety Law

New Delhi: Consumer VOICE submitted memorandum to the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi , urging to pass Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill 2017 in the upcoming winter session of Parliament and save 413 lives which are lost in road accidents every day. Once the bill is cleared from the Rajya Sabha, it will ensure the formation of a new stricter law which will help in saving precious human lives lost in road accidents every year.

In the press interaction meet organised on 4th october at Press Club of India,New Delhi Mr. Ashim Sanyal ,Chief Operating Officer ,Consumer VOICE said that the passage of Bill is crucial in the upcoming winter session .The provisions of proposed bill has very important elements for saving lives on roads and therefore parties across political lines should ensure its passage during the winter session”.

Mr.Dave Cliff, Chief Executive Officer,Global Road Safety Partnership and global road safety expert shared his view point on global road safety scenario and success stories on how countries have put stricter laws in reducing the road fatalities. He emphasised that India can achieve its goal of reducing fatalities by 50% by the year 2020 through passage of MVA Bill 2017 and its implementation by state governments.

As per the annual publication ‘Road Accidents in India-2016’ a report released by Ministry for Road Transport and Highways on Sept. 06, 2017 total 4,80,652 road accidents, 1,50,785, road traffic deaths took place and 4,94,624 persons were injured in India in year 2016. Everyday-1,317 Accidents take place and 413 Persons killed on Indian Roads.

The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2017 is already cleared by Lok Sabha in last session and is due for passage by the Rajya Sabha.

Big Tobacco, Tiny Targets Study 2020

Big Tobacco, Tiny Targets Study 2020

Big Tobacco, Tiny Targets Study 2020

On 12th January, on the occasion of Swami Vivekanada’s birth anniversary, which is also celebrated as National Youth Day, the report of Big Tobacco, Tiny Targets Study 2020 was released online. The study was conducted across 1011 educational institutions and 885 points of sale were investigated. A mobile app in 25 cities across 10 states of India was used by Consumer Voice and  Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI) for the study. The report was inaugurated amidst the august presence of Shri KTS Tulsi, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, Dr. Kirit Premjibhai Solanki, Member of Parliament, Bhavna B Mukhopadhyay, Chief Executive, Voluntary Health Association of India and Ashim Sanyal, Chief Operating Officer, CONSUMER VOICE. The event also witnessed the participation of civil society members from Consumer VOICE, Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI), and other civil society organisations, public health experts, parents, school children ,educationists, and media

The report is an eye opener of sorts. It reveals that tobacco companies are systematically targeting youth as young as eight years old in India, by selling and advertising tobacco products near educational institutions. Over 72% point of sale around educational institutions in 25 cities were found to be displaying cigarettes, bidis and smokeless tobacco products near candies and sweets at the eye level of children. These were selling single stick cigarettes and offering free/ discounted tobacco products to school children.

KEY FINDINGS OF THE STUDY:

  • Selling of tobacco around Educational Institutions– A total of 885 point of sale were identified to be selling tobacco products within 100 yards of educational institutions. This is a violation of section 6(b) of COTPA.
  • Display of tobacco products to attract children and youth– Out of the 885 points of sale investigated, 640 (72.32%) points of sale displayed cigarettes near candies and sweets to attract children, 669 (75.59%) points of sale had displayed tobacco products at the eye level of the child.
  • Advertisement of tobacco products– 117(13.2%) points of sale had outdoor advertising, 369 (41.69%) points of sale had posters and 107 (12.09%) had big banners.  This advertising violates Section 5(2) of COTPA and Notification G.S.R. 345(E) which established strict rules for any display boards used at the entrances of shops where tobacco is sold.
  • Price Discounts/ free product distribution of tobacco products- Out of 885 points of sale investigated, 111 (12.54%) offered free distribution of tobacco products for their promotion; 106 (11.98%) points of sale offered special or limited-edition pack and 105 (11.86%) offered price discount on tobacco products.
  • Cigarettes most commonly available-Out of 885 point of sale investigated, 840 (94.92%) sold cigarettes; 598 (67.57%) sold bidis; smokeless tobacco products were available at 520 (58.76%); 201 (22.71%) sold flavored tobacco products; Out of the 885 point of sale 678 (76.61%) points of sale had ITC brands like Classic, Gold Flake, Wills Navy Cut, Flake, and Bristol.
  • Selling of single stick cigarettes- Out of the 885 points of sale, 771 (87.12%) points of sale, sold single stick cigarettes.
  • Graphic health warnings hidden– Out of the 885 point of sale investigated, 553 (62.49%) displayed tobacco products, hiding the graphic health warnings on them, and thereby neutralizing their effectiveness.

Big Tobacco Tiny Targets factsheet

Big Tobacco Tiny Targets Report

The result of this study only strengthens our resolve to implement COTPA more stringently.  As Ashim  Sanyal points out“Tobacco companies have been exploiting loopholes in the law by selling and advertising their products around educational institutions and endangering the lives of our young generation, we therefore urge the Government to strengthen COTPA 2003 to protect our children & youth from falling prey to the tactics of tobacco companies.”  This will help in ending tobacco marketing to children and youth who are the future of any nation. This was also asserted by Dr. Kirit Premjibhai Solanki, Member of Parliament that “5500 children begin tobacco use daily in India and consequently may become addicted. It’s critical to make sure we strengthen our laws and penalty provisions to deter tobacco companies from selling and advertising of their addictive products to our children and youth.”

Dismay at the fact the children as young as 10 and 12 years are being targeted by tobacco companies, Shri KTS Tulsi, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha said that, “It’s critical to improve our existing laws and have stronger penalty provisions to protect our children and youth from menace of tobacco for healthy India”.

Dr. Pulkesh Kumar, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India who also graced the occasion emphasized the need to protect our children from the harmful effects of tobacco and implementation of COTPA in a more stringent manner.

Tobacco

“Our educational institutions are not safe so long as the tobacco industry continues to lure our children and youth into buying their deadly products” as rightly pointed out by Bhavna B Mukhopadhyay, Chief Executive, Voluntary Health Association of India.

It’s time that we wake up to this serious threat and save our children from the harmful effects of tobacco consumption.

Click here for media coverages

Interactive Session With Children on the Harmful Effects of Trans Fats

Interactive Session With Children on the Harmful Effects of Trans Fats

Interactive Session With Children on the Harmful Effects of Trans Fats

Children are one of the most vulnerable groups in terms of consuming trans fat due to lack of awareness. They need to be sensitized about trans-fat, what to eat in a right way and how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Keeping the health of children on top priority, Consumer VOICE organised an interactive workshop with students of Soami Nagar Model School New Delhi on 21st December 2020  as a part of campaign activities ‘Trans Fat Free Children.’  

 The head of the institution Ms.Aarti Prasad  addressed the students on this important topic and encouraged them to adopt healthy food habits and to  avoid the trans fats laden foods .Ms.Rinki Sharma, Head- Projects, Consumer VOICE interacted with students and conducted the session.

Students participated with full enthusiasm and shared their experiences in the interaction.

Various Informative posters on the subject matter were prepared and shown to students such as what is trans fatty acids, what are different types of foods to be avoided, ill effects of trans fatty acids etc. These posters were also put on school boards after permission of the school authorities.

 Stickers with ‘No to Trans Fat’ messages were  also circulated among students to put on their school bags as a reminder to avoid trans fatty acids in the food. We witnessed great enthusiasm among students and school staff. Around 45 students of  middle and senior sections  participated in the interactive session.

National Consumer Day 2020 – Time for consumers to awake and arise

National Consumer Day 2020 – Time for consumers to awake and arise

National Consumer Day 2020 – Time for consumers to awake and arise

BY ASHIM SANYAL, COO CONSUMER VOICE

Every year 24th December is observed as National Consumer Day in India with a specific theme. On this day the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 had received the assent of the President.

The enactment of this Act is considered as a historic milestone in the consumer movement in the country.

This day provides an opportunity for individuals to highlight the importance of the consumer movement and the need to make every consumer aware of their rights and responsibilities.

This year the theme of National Consumer Day isThe Sustainable Consumer’We need drastic action to address the global crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. The decade of the 2020s is our last chance to limit global warming since pre-industrial times, in line with the Paris Agreement and to reverse the current trend of wide-scale biodiversity loss.The consumer movement should highlight the lifestyle changes consumers can make to play their part, and what governments and businesses need to do to make sustainability the easy choice for consumers.

The Consumer Protection Act 2019 is in force from 20th July 2020. The Act will empower consumers and help them in protecting their rights through its various notified rules and provisions like Consumer Protection Councils, Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions, Mediation, Product Liability and punishment for manufacture or sale of products containing adulterant / spurious goods.

The Act includes establishment of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers.  The CCPA will be empowered to conduct investigations into violations of consumer rights and institute complaints / prosecution, order recall of unsafe goods and services, order discontinuance of unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements, impose penalties on manufacturers/endorsers/publishers of misleading advertisements.

Under this act every e-commerce entity is required to provide information relating to return, refund, exchange, warranty and guarantee, delivery and shipment, modes of payment, grievance redressal mechanism, payment methods, security of payment methods, charge-back options, etc. including country of origin which are necessary for enabling the consumer to make an informed decision at the pre-purchase stage on its platform.  The e-commerce platforms also need to acknowledge the receipt of any consumer complaint within forty-eight hours and redress the complaint within one month from the date of receipt under this Act.

The Act introduces the concept of product liability and brings within its scope, the product manufacturer, product service provider and product seller, for any claim for compensation.

The Act provides for simplifying the consumer dispute adjudication process in the consumer commissions, which include, among others,  empowerment of the State and District Commissions to review their own orders, enabling a consumer to file complaints electronically and file complaints in consumer Commissions that have jurisdiction over the place of his residence, videoconferencing for hearing and deemed admissibility of complaints if the question of admissibility is not decided within the specified period of 21 days.

An Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanism of mediation has been provided in the new Act. This will simplify the adjudication process.  A complaint will be referred by a Consumer Commission for mediation, wherever scope for early settlement exists and parties agree for it. Mediation will be held in the Mediation Cells to be established under the aegis of the Consumer Commissions.  There will be no appeal against settlement through mediation.

As per the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission rules, there will be no fee for filing cases upto Rs. 5 lakh. The CCPA may impose a penalty on a manufacturer or an endorser of up to Rs 10 lakh and imprisonment for up to two years for a false or misleading advertisement.  In case of a subsequent offence, the fine may extend to Rs 50 lakh and imprisonment of up to five years.

Consumer VOICE wishes all citizens an eventful National Consumer Day 2020 under the new strong Act and hopes that many consumers will join us in also celebrating the International Consumer Rights Day on 15th March 2021. Let’s pledge to make consumers’ voices heard !

For other articles by Consumer VOICE COO’s Desk, click here

Enquire Now

    X
    Enquire Now