News Tue Nov 18 2008

Soup Wars: It's On

Stephen Colbert last night reported on the brewing advertising battle between Progresso and Campbell's soups. Both have had full-page ads in the New York Times recently claiming to have fewer soups with MSG. Colbert would make a good commentator on this subject, given his love of MSG (he says his favorite soup is Campbell's MSG with Stars). But, it turns out he's "heavily and proudly invested in Campell's soup stock," he admits in the broadcast. He holds some beef stock, as well as some chicken stock.

Meanwhile, the Glutamate Association is also weighing in on the battle. The GA says that these ads might cause consumers to assume there's some reason for them to avoid MSG, a flavor enhancer that's been in use for 100 years. The FDA says MSG is a safe additive, and I believe that. But I was a bit horrified to learn from this article from Food Product Design that, surprise: like so many other foods ingested by Americans, MSG (a once natural product derived from seaweed) is made from corn glucose.

Stick with Colbert. He promises to follow this battle as it simmers.

— Lori Barrett / Comments (0)