Some products contain less than 10%: where have the vegetables gone in industrial soups?

As autumn approaches, the desire for a nice hot soup is reborn. It must be said that in cold weather, the consumption of soup by the French is particularly high. In total, each year, no less than 14,288 tons are consumed.

Recently, we shared our recipe for tomato soup, which will probably be replaced by the timeless pumpkin soup. While some people make it at home, others opt for the easy option, preferring industrial soups. It’s even a real business since the turnover of soups in supermarkets amounts to more than 570 million euros.

But while it may be convenient, since you only have to heat up your soup before eating it, ready-made soups actually have many disadvantages. From a health and economic point of view, this is far from being a good alternative. A survey by UFC What to Choose on this subject, published this Thursday, September 19, highlights this problem. We tell you more.

You may think that eating industrial soup as a meal is a good idea since it allows you to stock up on vitamins thanks to the vegetables in it. Well, you are wrong. Indeed, contrary to what is written on the packaging, most of the time, vegetable soups contain very few vegetables. As surprising as it may seem, this is what the recent UFC Que Choisir survey reveals. After testing 40 organic or non-organic soups purchased in supermarkets, the verdict is clear: some products contain less than 10% vegetables.

So on a brick of eight vegetable puree, the quantity of vegetables should be significant yet it only represents 41.8% of the ingredients. But how can this be explained? “Manufacturers insist on having at least 40% vegetables. When we make soup at home, we are more likely to have 80% vegetables. That’s a big difference.” specifies dietician nutritionist Isabelle Rigaux to our colleagues from TF1.

If you thought you were saving money by switching to industrial soups, think again. This is a false argument since some portions cost more. This is the case, for example, with the 30 cl Knorr pumpkin velouté at 4.08 euros. By making it at home, you can easily double the quantity for the same price or with just a few euros more.

Unsurprisingly, homemade soup is also better for your health. In a video shared on Tiktok about industrial soups, nutritionist Raphaël Gruman highlighted the various problems with this type of product. The first? Their salt content is often particularly high. Indeed, in an individual carton, you will have one and a half times the salt intake to consume per day. That is to say that with a carton of soup, “You are exceeding your daily salt intake. This can increase blood pressure.”

Another problem: “The additives added to this type of product.” In fact, to obtain the soup, flavor enhancers, acidity correctors or even texturizers are added to the recipe. Components that “have no place in this type of product and which are harmful to health”the nutritionist reported.

So, as you will have understood, homemade soup remains the best solution. However, if you don’t have time to make it, avoid brick soups and opt for frozen products. Indeed, UFC-Que-Choisir claims that the latter are lower in salt and contain more vegetables.