Soup Lovers Left Reeling After Campbell's Executive's Shocking Comments
As winter tightens its grip, Britons are reaching for their ultimate comfort food: soup. Whether it's creamy tomato, hearty Scotch broth, or classic chicken noodle, the nation's love affair with tinned soup shows no signs of cooling. The UK consumes more than 2.5kg of tinned soup per person annually, making it one of the world's biggest soup-consuming countries. This thriving market is worth over £463 million, with a recent survey revealing that a quarter of British families consider tinned soup an essential they 'can't live without'.
Controversy Strikes Trusted Brand
Last week, this cosy culinary landscape was shaken when Campbell's - one of Britain's most-trusted soup brands - found itself embroiled in controversy. An audio recording allegedly captured Martin Bally, vice-president and chief information security officer at Campbell Soup Company in America, describing the company's products in shocking terms.
The recording featured the executive calling Campbell's products 's***' and stating 'It's not healthy now that I know what the f***'s in it'. The speaker - who has since left the company - also made concerning references to 'bio-engineered meat', expressing discomfort about eating 'a piece of chicken that came from a 3D printer'.
Nutritionist Exposes What's Really in Your Tin
While Campbell's swiftly refuted the comments, describing them as 'not only inaccurate... but patently absurd', the damage was done. Millions of soup lovers began frantically examining ingredients lists, leaving many wondering what exactly goes into their favourite tins.
Leading nutritionist GQ Jordan warns that 'the front of the tin often paints a much healthier picture than what's inside'. She explains that most soups contain far more salt than people realise, with many relying on added sugar, cream or starch to boost flavour while being lower in protein and fibre than consumers might expect.
Heinz Cream of Tomato: Sweet Surprise
This timeless favourite, launched at Fortnum & Mason in 1910, contains 89% tomatoes, with half a tin counting as one of your five-a-day. However, Jordan reveals it contains 'roughly 1.5 teaspoons of added sugar per serving' - equivalent to a chocolate Hobnob biscuit. With high salt content (1.1g per serving) and minimal fibre or protein, it scores just 1/5 for health.
Budget Brilliance: Sainsbury's Pea and Ham
At just 63p, this soup delivers surprising nutritional value with 35.5% peas providing fibre and plant protein. Though ham content is modest at 3.5%, it maintains reasonable salt levels (0.7g per serving) and low sugar, earning a impressive 4/5 health rating.
M&S Chunky Vegetable Soup Tops Charts
With vegetables making up 45% of contents in decent-sized chunks, this £1.10 soup delivers 2.2g fibre and just 66 calories per serving. While salt isn't low (1g), Jordan praises it as coming 'closest to what people imagine they're buying', awarding it a perfect 5/5.
Campbell's Condensed Soups Under Scrutiny
The brand's Cream of Chicken soup contains just 4% chicken and is very high in salt (1.27g per serving), scoring 2/5. Similarly, their Cream of Mushroom soup contains only 10% mushroom and high salt levels, also receiving a 2/5 rating.
Waitrose Lentil and Vegetable Excels
Another 5/5 winner, this soup contains 81% lentils and vegetables, providing protein, fibre and steady energy from its mixture of red and green lentils with various vegetables.
Surprising Sugar Levels
Morrisons Roasted Red Pepper Soup contains a surprising 10.3g sugar per half can - equivalent to two scoops of vanilla ice cream - while Baxters French Onion Soup contains 14g sugar per can, matching a jam doughnut.
The controversy has left British soup lovers with much to consider about their favourite comfort food, balancing convenience against nutritional value as they navigate the supermarket aisles this winter.
