NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Lifestyle

Wendyl Nissen: This chicken has crossed the road

By Wendyl Nissen
NZ Herald·
9 Sep, 2016 10:45 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Campbell's Country Ladle Roast Chicken & Winter Vegetable Soup. Photo / Supplied

Campbell's Country Ladle Roast Chicken & Winter Vegetable Soup. Photo / Supplied

Opinion by Wendyl NissenLearn more

Grabbing a can of soup on a cold winter's night or for lunch on the run is a great idea and most of them contain very few problem ingredients because canning means there is no need for preservatives. What else goes into them varies from producer to producer but this one caught my eye because one ingredient in particular seemed to make a poor showing in the ingredients list.

Campbell's Country Ladle Roast Chicken & Winter Vegetable Soup. $3.50 for 505g.

Ingredients (in order of greatest quantity first):

Vegetables (54 per cent) (Carrots, potatoes, celery, pumpkin, onions, spinach, leeks)

More than half this soup is made up of vegetables which is great. You'll get "more than three serves of vegetables per can." According to the label they are "farm picked" with a picture of a tractor, which I think is supposed to make you feel they are unique and premium but when you think about it, all vegetables are farm picked.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Chicken stock (Water, chicken, herb extracts)

This is a nice "clean" stock with no additives such as flavour enhancers or preservatives. These would be the ingredients for chicken stock made at home with a few vegetables thrown in.

Chicken (4 per cent)

When I asked various members of my family how much chicken they thought would be in this can of soup the answers ranged from 15 per cent to the very optimistic 45 per cent. At 4 per cent this means there is very little chicken in here. In fact there is 20.2g, which is about a 10th of an average-sized chicken breast.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Potato starch

This will be in here to thicken the soup.

Cream (from milk)

Also in here for thickening but also possibly for flavour.

Discover more

Opinion

Wendyl Nissen: Turning to custard

12 Aug 05:00 PM
Opinion

Wendyl Nissen: Special K investigation

19 Aug 05:00 PM
Lifestyle

Sugar turn pet treat into lap of luxury

26 Aug 05:00 PM
Opinion

Nissen: New V victory for consumer demand

02 Sep 05:00 PM

Modified tapioca starch (E1442)

Possibly another thickener.

Salt

This product is quite high in salt at 602mg per 250g serve. People on a low-salt diet are encouraged to consume about 920g of sodium per day.

Sugar

Not too much sugar in here but still enough for a teaspoon at 4.7g.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Vegetable protein extract

This is a product usually made by hydrolysis, which means taking vegetable matter and cooking it in hydrochloric acid. The result is a product with a meaty broth taste.

Flavour enhancer (E635)

Disodium 5'-ribo nucleotide a chemical flavour enhancer commonly found in processed food to replace the unpopular MSG.

Mineral salts (E452, E450, E451, E500)

The first three mineral salts are diphosphates, which are salts of phosphoric acid and the fourth is sodium bicarbonate or baking soda. These could be in here as emulsifiers, thickeners, stabilisers or pH regulators.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Soy protein

This additive is a cost-effective way of adding protein to a food that may not have much, as with this one with its 4 per cent of chicken. The nutrition information lists 5.1g of protein per 250g serve.

Maltodexestrin (from wheat)

This is another form of sugar, which is probably in here for taste.

My recommendations

With just 4 per cent or 20.2g chicken I think the name of this soup should be changed from Roast Chicken and Winter Vegetables to Winter Vegetables with Roast Chicken, or perhaps even Winter Vegetables that once called out to a chicken as it was walking past. The lack of chicken means that this is a reasonably affordable soup but it also means that to achieve the correct flavour, additives such as a flavour enhancer and vegetable protein are required to give it a chicken taste. But if you're happy to accept this soup as primarily vegetable soup then it is fine. It's 98 per cent fat free, has three serves of vegetables per 505g can, has no artificial colours or MSG and is a good source of fibre at 3.8g per 250g serve.

Highlights

• Only 4 per cent chicken.
• Has added flavour enhancers and vegetable protein for meaty taste.
• Contains 54 per cent vegetable.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Lifestyle

Lifestyle

Why this Birkin bag became a $16.6m fashion icon

10 Jul 08:53 PM
Lifestyle

‘Are you having a laugh?’: Boss’ text to former employee goes viral

10 Jul 08:30 PM
Premium
Lifestyle

After 45 years as a sex therapist, I know exactly what makes someone cheat

10 Jul 06:00 PM

Get your kids involved in your reno

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Lifestyle

Why this Birkin bag became a $16.6m fashion icon

Why this Birkin bag became a $16.6m fashion icon

10 Jul 08:53 PM

The first Birkin bag has sold to a Japanese buyer at a Paris auction.

‘Are you having a laugh?’: Boss’ text to former employee goes viral

‘Are you having a laugh?’: Boss’ text to former employee goes viral

10 Jul 08:30 PM
Premium
After 45 years as a sex therapist, I know exactly what makes someone cheat

After 45 years as a sex therapist, I know exactly what makes someone cheat

10 Jul 06:00 PM
Smokefree Rockquest Wairarapa Regional Finals 2025 Highlights

Smokefree Rockquest Wairarapa Regional Finals 2025 Highlights

Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper
sponsored

Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP