Ingredients of instant noodles and instant soups (Junk food)

If we eat junk, lets admit to ourselves its junk. These are some of the actual ingredients of processed food. These are close-up photographs of the labels on instant noodles and instant ready-made soups of different brands like Nestle and Knorr.

The dal atta noodles call themselves healthy but just look at the ingredients. The word "atta" is almost immediately followed by "wheat flour" which means maida or white refined flour. Followed by edible vegetable oil, salt and guar gum. The garnishing of dal is more for show. The mixed spices, sugar, salt are too much for the serving size. The rest of the ingredients are: wheat (read refined flour or maida) noodle poweder, tamarind powder, acidifying agent, curry leaves, asafoetida or hing, dehydrated vegetables (which hardly have any food value) and then there are flavour enhancers. Sounds quite unhealthy to me.

Here are the ingredients of these noodles: wheat flour or  maida, refined vegetable oil, salts and antioxidants.

This is the pack of instant pasta which seems a little better as it claims to be made of semolina (rawa) and wheat fibre.

This is an instant soup powder made of maltodextin, salt, monosodium gulatamate (which is not present in all instant noodles), sugar, chicken fat, vegetable fat, hydrolysed vegetable protein, flavourants, thickener, yeast extract, herbs, acidifiers, spices, flavour enhances and antioxidant. Seems like poison to me!  If you have to use this stuff add your own vegetable puree to it.

These are vegetable atta noodles purportedly made with whole wheat. As in the earlier case the word "atta" is immediately followed by the word "wheat flour" which means white refined flour or maida. This one has artificial colour as well.

This packet of hot and sour vegetable soup says it has no synthetic colours, but it will have colors, though of the natural variety. However even these are chemicals as it is all processed. Ingredients: Corn flour, salt, dehydrated vegetables, dried glucose syrup, sugar, flavour enhancer, soyabean sauce condiments, acidity regulator, yeast extract and dehydrated garlic and vitamins. The only think I like about it is vitamins because at least they are vitamins. Whether the actual food has any vitamins we don't know. Most likely not. Best to add your own finely chopped vegetables.

Related Pictures: Processed Juices in India or Instant Noodles Stock Photo or Processed foods in India or How to recognize a fake Tata Tetley tea bag or Muesli Nutrition Comparison and misleading labelling
Or for more try the label "Processed Food" or "Snacks" for cooked snacks.