Kids Condensed Soup

We make soup just for kids – with fun pasta shapes and a delicious chicken broth. We are working to simplify the recipe of our kids’ chicken and pasta soups and in some cases, have cut the number of ingredients by a third. Our aim is to use more of the ingredients parents – and kids – tell us they prefer, and less of those they want to avoid.

KEY INGREDIENTS

Chicken Stock

The stock is made from cooking chicken and seasoning in water and then concentrating it through evaporation. We also use a small amount of dehydrated or dried chicken stock for added flavor.

Pasta shapes

We use dried pasta shapes made with enriched flour and egg. The pasta dough is pressed into intricate shapes to add fun to meal time. The flour used in the pasta shapes is milled from wheat grown in the U.S. and Canada.

Chicken meat

We use a mix of chicken ingredients to create a delicious flavor. We use mechanically separated chicken, which is chicken meat that has been deboned mechanically rather than by hand. It’s considered a safe and efficient method, as it means little meat is wasted. We also add some dehydrated chicken meat to the broth.

INGREDIENTS FOR FLAVOR

We select ingredients to add flavor to our kids’ soups. Many of these are commonly used, but others you may not be familiar with. We’ve explained some of these here.

Garlic & onion extract

We use the liquid extracts of garlic and onion to add flavor to the broth.

Sodium phosphate

A type of salt that allows mixtures of ingredients to blend easily or “emulsify”. It is also used to maintain the flavor and texture of the pieces of chicken.

Yeast extract

A natural flavor derived from yeast which adds a savory taste.

INGREDIENTS FOR TEXTURE & COLOR

We carefully select ingredients that help blend the soup smoothly and ensure that it looks, as well as tastes, appealing.

Modified food starch

Helps to thicken the soup and give it a smooth, consistent texture.

Beta carotene

A pigment that gives carrots, sweet potatoes and pumpkins their orange color. When used in food, it adds a yellow or orange color.

Soy protein isolate

A protein made from soybeans which is used to help keep the chicken tender during cooking.

Yeast extract

A natural flavor derived from yeast which adds a savory taste.

INGREDIENTS WE ARE PHASING OUT

Parents have told us they would prefer to avoid feeding their kids certain ingredients, like MSG and artificial colors or flavors. We are in the process of removing some of these from our kids soups. We have already taken them out of our Star Wars and Frozen varieties and plan to take them out of the rest of our range by the end of 2017.

Disodium guanylate & disodium inosinate

These are types of salt used to enhance the flavor of our soups and minimize the amount of sodium in the recipe.

Maltodextrin

A type of carbohydrate made from corn or potatoes used to create an even and consistent flavor in our food.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG)

MSG is made by fermenting cane or beet molasses and is used to enhance the food’s savory flavor.

Potassium chloride

A type of salt we use to reduce the amount of table salt (sodium chloride) in our recipes.

GENETICALLY MODIFIED INGREDIENTS

In America, approximately 90% of all canola, corn, soybean and sugar beet crops are grown from genetically modified seeds. Farmers have been using these seeds for more than 20 years as they are safe, reduce costs and improve yields.

The ingredients in condensed kids’ soups that may be derived from these crops are:

Canola

- vegetable oils which may be from canola, corn or soy

Corn

- corn starch, lactic acid, maltodextrin, modified food starch, vinegar

Soybean

- soy protein isolate, soy sauce, soybean oil, soy lecithin

Sugar beet

- citric acid, sugar

Non-GMO Ingredients

All other ingredients are not genetically modified.

WHO MAKES & GROWS THE SOUP

We buy many of our ingredients from farmers in America and Canada.

More than 75% of the produce we buy as a company is from the U.S. – that’s around 2.5 billion pounds a year.

We make our condensed soups in Ohio, Texas, North Carolina and Toronto, Canada.

We employ around 4,000 people across these locations.

Learn More

PACKAGING

Steel cans are among the safest, most convenient, affordable and environmentally sustainable forms of packaging. The steel cans we use are recyclable and contain 30% recycled steel.

Our cans are coated on the inside with a thin layer of plastic to separate the food from the metal. This keeps the food safe and preserves its nutritional value. The lining we currently use contains a substance called bisphenol A or BPA.

In March 2016, we announced plans to transition to non-BPA can linings and coatings and started shipping cans with linings made from acrylic or polyester. We expect this transition to be complete by mid-2017.

We are making this move in response to consumer feedback. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and many other regulatory agencies around the world have said that BPA is safe to use in packaging.

OUR PACKAGING AND BPA

We understand that some people would prefer to avoid bisphenol A (BPA), although FDA has determined that it’s safe to use in food packaging. Historically, BPA has been used in food packaging to line metal cans and to preserve the food’s taste and its nutritional value.

PET bottles, pouches and cartons such as those used for V8® beverages, Swanson® broths and Campbell’s sauces are (and have always been) non-BPA packaging.

Campbell has transitioned to non-BPA lining in all of our aluminum and steel cans in the United States and Canada.

The containers of a few other products have metal components that have limited food contact points but are key to ensuring that the lids remain tight. BPA is used as a coating on that metal but in small amounts and we continue to work on packaging alternatives.