The cheap end of the ketchup aisle is built on three cost-cutting moves: high fructose corn syrup in place of cane sugar, tomato concentrate stretched with water, and flavor-rounding additives instead of a longer cook. The bottle is cheaper because the ingredients are.
§ 01
What you are actually buying
- HFCS as the second ingredient, sometimes the first
- Tomato concentrate at a lower percentage so water can fill the bottle
- Distilled vinegar instead of cider or wine vinegar
- "Natural flavors" doing the work that a slow cook used to do
§ 02
What it costs you later
HFCS is associated with higher metabolic risk than cane sugar at the same calorie level. See the research breakdown. Thinner tomato content means you pour more to taste anything, which raises sodium and sugar intake per serving. The cheap bottle is rarely cheap per use.
§ 03
What 78 chooses instead
78 Original is 78 percent real tomatoes, cane sugar instead of HFCS, and the kind of spice and vinegar work that produces flavor without flavor packets. It costs more per bottle. Most kitchens use less of it.
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