I’ve been buying the Kettle Brand potato chips for quite some time because they claim to be GMO and MSG free.
So the other day we took a bag to friends and they informed us that “yeast extract” is MSG. I found that hard to believe, but unfortunately they were right. Yeast extract is MSG!
Kettle Brands has the NERVE to state on the package that it does not contain MSG. However, they ADMIT at their FAQ at http://www.kettlebrand.com/our_products/faqs/:
Do you use MSG in your products?
No, we do not use MSG in any of our products or in any of the ingredients in our products. Some ingredients we use, like tomato powder and yeast extract, are naturally high in amino acids including naturally occurring glutamic acid which is a component of MSG. People who have severe sensitivities to MSG may want to consider moderation in eating food with these ingredients. [emphasis added]
Talk about DECEPTION!
Obviously, I will NEVER buy another bag of Kettle Brand chips again as they won’t be removing this crap just because I don’t like it.
I submitted a copy of this post with this URL at the Kettle Brand site.
They sure do NOT want to hear your concerns and make it extremely difficult to submit a message, REQUIRING your mailing address, the product UPS code, “best before date” and “Production Code”. Since Kettle Brand products are no longer in our house, I had to switch to “other comments and concerns.” And once again I had to retype ALL my info. Talk about a company with nothing but contempt for their customers. They do NOT want to hear from anybody!
Of course I will update with their response, if any.
And we’ll stick to corn chips, as it’s apparently impossible to get crap free potato chips. I’m way too busy to spend hours reading labels, but if you have any recommendations for crap free potato chips, please let me know!
10/18/15 Update: I received this response:
2/28/17 Update: Great news, I saw a bag of the salt and pepper chips a couple months ago and it did NOT say “no MSG” anymore! I think it still has the yeast extract, but I’m happy that they stopped the misleading claims.
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one complaining and it goes to show that if you make enough noise, you might just be heard.
Glutamic acid occurs in lots of natural food… Tomatoes are very high in it… Glutamic acid is not MSG (MSG contains and is a derivative of Glutamic Acid) – so whilst the chemical composition of “Yeast Extract” has some similarities with MSG it’s not MSG.. By your argument all bread contains MSG (as it contains yeast).. To be honest, that’s the flaw in the whole MSG argument, it’s chemical composition occurs naturally in almost everything we eat, but maybe at less concentrated levels. Seems like responsible marketing to me (in that they are not artificially loading the product with MSG).
You’re certainly entitled to your opinion. I despise ALL deceptive and misleading advertising.
As I posted above, Kettle states on its own website:
“People who have severe sensitivities to MSG may want to consider moderation in eating food with these ingredients.”
So why not put THAT on the package?
“By your argument all bread contains MSG (as it contains yeast)”
You can’t even follow my argument. If it contains MSG for WHATEVER reason, you don’t advertise “no MSG.”
Is that so hard to understand?
I am upset too. But the previous comment is correct. If you want to avoid the high concentrations of these things, you can’t eat anything that comes from a box (which is what I’m finding I will have to do to feel good). On one hand, this is not easy, but you won’t have a weight problem and you will probably feel fantastic.
Appreciate your comment because it reminded me to UPDATE. My main concern was really the false labeling and they took off the “no MSG.”
And of course you’re right about not eating food from a box — that’s why I grow food! But we can’t grow everything and it’s just so time consuming to prepare healthy meals yourself. It’s nice to be able to just open a bag of chips.