How much is that sodium content on the label?

How much is that sodium content on the label?

Sing along with me to the old children’s song “How much is that hound dog in the window?” as I discuss the confusing world of food nutrition labels. OK, I’m being goofy, but it’s a catchy lead, isn’t it?

You want to shop healthy at the grocery store and naturally check and compare the nutrition labels on the items, whether you need black beans or chili powder. You would think you’re comparing apples to apples for the same type of product, right?

Wrong.

I went to the store today for several items, including chili powder. The store had only three varieties of powder – the store brand, McCormick and Mexene. We had wanted to find some low-sodium chili powder for a while, and I grew excited when I noticed the store brand had only 20 mg of sodium per serving! The large store brand jar was a similar price to the much smaller jar of Mexene, which had 235 mg of sodium per serving.

But then I checked the serving size and my sense of euphoria came crashing down.

The store brand’s serving was a quarter teaspoon, which seems reasonable for a spice. But the Mexene brand’s serving size was 5 teaspoons, or 20 times the volume. So the Mexene chili powder actually has less sodium for an equivalent amount – 400 mg for 5 teaspoons of the store brand vs. 235 mg for 5 teaspoons of the Mexene brand.

I bought the Mexene brand.

You may be asking if I considered buying the McCormick brand. There’s a reason I have not listed its sodium content – the manufacturer did not list that. Instead of helping its potential customers, the McCormick chili powder’s label provides an address for anyone who wants the nutritional information.

One of my new pet peeves is when a company refuses to disclose its products’ nutritional information, which happens from time to time. Maybe I’ll save my full wrath on that problem for another blog. For now, I’m just waiting for my pork tenderloin chili to finish cooking!