Course:FNH200/Assignments/2022/French's Ketchup Regular VS. Zero Sugar

French's Tomato Ketchup uses 100% Canadian farm-growing tomatoes. This product is free from preservatives, artificial flavours and colours, and gluten!

Our team will compare and analyze two products from French's: regular ketchup and zero-sugar ketchup.

Introduction

French's Tomato Ketchup: Regular VS. Zero Sugar

Ketchup is a table sauce made with tomatoes, with a sweet and tangy flavor. Ketchup is most often used as a codiment for hot and fried food such as fries, chicken tenders, and hanburgers.

French's zero-sugar-added ketchup is sweetened with Stevia extract, which makes it have 70% less calories than their original ketchup.

In the following sections, we will compare the zero-sugar-added ketchup with the regular ketchup, through the analysis of their ingredients, substitues, adding additives, and labels.

Pictures of the Products

Image 1: Frontview (left: zero sugar right: regular)

Image 2: Nutrition Fact Sheet And Ingredient (left: zero sugar right: regular)

Ingredient lists

1.Ingredients

French’s Ketchup with no sugar added	French’s Ketchup
Tomato paste (made from fresh ripe tomatoes) White vinegar Water Salt Stevia extract Seasoning	Tomato paste (made from fresh ripe tomatoes) Liquid sugar White vinegar Salt Seasoning

Ingredients are listed in order of weight, beginning with the ingredient that weighs the most and ending with the ingredient that weighs the least.

2. Substitutes & Additives used

	French’s Ketchup with no sugar added	French’s Ketchup
Sugar Substitutes	Stevia extract	None
Fat Substitutes	None	None
Additives	White vinegar Seasoning	White vinegar Seasoning

3. Role of Substitutes & Additives

French’s Ketchup with no sugar added

Sugar substitutes:

• Stevia extract: It is a sugar substitute made from the leaves of stevia plants and functions to provide sweetness in French’s Ketchup. It’s about 100 to 300 times sweeter than table sugar, but it has no calories, carbohydrates, or artificial ingredients. It is known as a safe and healthy sugar substitute without any negative health effects linked to refined sugar. Additionally, It is associated with several health benefits such as reduced calorie intake, risk of cavities, and blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Other common usages of stevia extract include sweetening a drink or sprinkling it on cereals. Lastly, Stevia is completely natural since it is extracted from leaves of the Stevia plant.

Fat substitutes: None

Additives:

• White vinegar: The acetic acid contained in the vinegar increases the acidity of the French’s ketchup, killing off any microorganisms and effectively preserving the tomato paste by preventing spoilage.

• Seasoning: Seasoning means to bring out or intensify the natural flavor of the food without changing it. Seasonings are usually added near the end of the cooking period. The most common seasonings are salt, pepper, and acids (such as lemon juice). When seasonings are used properly, they cannot be tasted; their job is to heighten the flavors of the original ingredients.

French’s Ketchup

Sugar substitutes: None

Fat substitutes: None

Additives:

• White vinegar: The acetic acid contained in the vinegar increases the acidity of the French’s ketchup, killing off any microorganisms and effectively preserving the tomato paste by preventing spoilage.

• Seasoning: Seasoning means to bring out or intensify the natural flavor of the food without changing it. Seasonings are usually added near the end of the cooking period. The most common seasonings are salt, pepper, and acids (such as lemon juice). When seasonings are used properly, they cannot be tasted; their job is to heighten the flavors of the original ingredients.

4. Compare & Contrast

Similarity: Both the no sugar added Ketchup and regular Ketchup have the following ingredients: Tomato paste (made from fresh ripe tomatoes), White vinegar, Salt, and Seasoning.

Difference: The no sugar added Ketchup replaced the Liquid sugar with Stevia extract and Water. Because Stevia extract is about 100 to 300 times sweeter than table sugar, but it has no calories, carbohydrates, or artificial ingredients. The Ketchup using this Stevia extract can achieve the same tastes and sweetness compared to original Ketchup, but with zero table sugar added and less calories.

Labels

Image 3: Best Before Date is on the bottom of the bottle

	French's Ketchup & French's Ketchup with no sugar added
Common Name	It is commonly known as regular ketchup and zero sugar ketchup.
Bilingualism	English & French
Country of Origin	Canada
Date Markings & Storage Instructions	The best before date is labeled at the bottom, which is Oct 10, 2023 (see Image 3). Storage instructions: Shake well before using and refrigerate after opening.
Name & Principle Place of Business	McCormick Canada London, Canada N6A 4Z2
Legibility & Location	Both products are easily available in Canada, and the labels are clear and easy to read.
Net Quantity	The net quantity of both bottles of ketchup is shown in the lower right corner of the front label and is 750ml.
Nutrition Facts	The table contains the required information such as calories, fat (saturated and trans fat), carbohydrate, fibre, sugars, protein, cholesterol, sodium, potassium, calcium, and iron.
Irradiation	The product is not irradiated and therefore does not need to be shown on the laebl.
List of Ingredients and Allergens	Ingredients can be clearly seen in ingredient list. Products will not cause allergies
Sweeteners	Clearly identified in the list of ingredients and can be seen in Image 2.
Food Additives	Clearly identified in the list of ingredients and can be seen in Image 2.

The above information meets the regulatory requirements we learned in the course material (lesson 4).

The label on the bottle has a nutrition factsheet, ingredients, expiration date and other details about the product.

References

This Food Science resource was created by Course:FNH200.