6 Pretzel Brands You Should Never Eat
Pretzels, those twisted, crunchy snacks we all love, aren’t always as innocent as they seem.
I’ve been a pretzel enthusiast since childhood, munching my way through countless brands over the years. But not all pretzels deserve a place in your pantry.
Some popular brands hide troubling ingredients, excessive sodium, or questionable manufacturing practices behind their appealing packaging.
1. Rold Gold’s Sodium Nightmare
My doctor once joked that eating a bag of Rold Gold pretzels is like licking a salt lick in the desert! These ubiquitous twists pack a whopping 450mg of sodium per serving – that’s nearly 20% of your daily recommended intake in just a handful of pretzels.
The ingredient list doesn’t improve matters. Enriched flour sounds healthy until you realize it’s stripped of nutrients then artificially enhanced. Plus, they contain soybean oil, which some nutritionists flag for its inflammatory properties when highly processed.
What really twists my pretzel is their misleading “fat-free” marketing. Sure, they’re low in fat, but they compensate with extra salt and refined carbs that spike blood sugar faster than my nephew devours candy on Halloween!
2. Snyder’s Of Hanover Butter Snaps: A Chemical Cocktail
Butter should be simple, right? Not in Snyder’s Butter Snaps! Flipping the package over one movie night, I nearly choked on my snack when I spotted “artificial butter flavor” prominently featured – real butter nowhere to be found.
Yellow #5 and Yellow #6 give these pretzels their appetizing golden hue, but these petroleum-derived food dyes have been linked to hyperactivity in children and are banned in several European countries. The brand also uses TBHQ, a preservative derived from petroleum that extends shelf life but offers zero nutritional benefits.
Despite the wholesome imagery on packaging, these pretzels contain refined sugars that create an addictive quality – precisely why I once demolished a whole bag during a single episode of my favorite show!
3. Herr’s Hidden Health Hazards
Growing up in Pennsylvania, Herr’s was practically a food group in our house. Imagine my disappointment when I learned about their concerning production practices! Their pretzels contain partially hydrogenated oils – trans fats in disguise despite industry moves to eliminate these heart-health villains.
The company’s commitment to “flavor enhancers” means they’re heavy-handed with monosodium glutamate (MSG). This controversial additive gives their pretzels that can’t-stop-eating quality but triggers headaches and discomfort for sensitive individuals like my sister.
Corn syrup solids lurk in several Herr’s varieties, adding empty calories and unnecessary sweetness. Their manufacturing facilities also process multiple allergens without adequate separation protocols – a genuine concern for anyone with food sensitivities or allergies.
4. Auntie Anne’s Frozen Imposters
Mall pretzels were my teenage weekend ritual, so discovering Auntie Anne’s frozen versions at the grocery store felt like striking gold! Sadly, these freezer-section knockoffs bear little resemblance to their fresh-baked mall counterparts except for the name.
The freezing process requires additional stabilizers and preservatives that never touch the fresh mall versions. Sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate might sound scientific, but they’re just industrial preservatives that can form benzene – a known carcinogen when combined with certain acids.
The sugar content would make a candy bar blush! One Original Pretzel contains nearly 5 teaspoons of sugar – I accidentally fed these to my niece before bedtime once and learned this lesson the hard way. The texture after heating ranges from rubber-like to brick-hard, with none of that signature Auntie Anne’s pillowy goodness.
5. SuperPretzel’s Super-Processed Problem
SuperPretzel soft pretzels fueled countless childhood sleepovers at my house – pop them in the microwave and voilà! Instant snack happiness! Unfortunately, what I didn’t know then would have horrified my mother.
These freezer-aisle favorites contain an alphabet soup of additives including calcium propionate, sodium stearoyl lactylate, and diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides. Fancy terms for ingredients that extend shelf life while potentially shortening yours! Their sodium content rivals seawater – a single pretzel delivers over 600mg.
The company’s manufacturing practices raise eyebrows too. They use bromated flour, containing potassium bromate, a dough conditioner banned in numerous countries for potential carcinogenic properties but somehow still permitted in America. The irony of their “wholesome snack” marketing still makes me chuckle bitterly while shopping.
6. Utz Old-Fashioned Deception
“Old-fashioned” conjures images of simple, wholesome ingredients exactly what attracted me to Utz pretzels after reading about cleaner eating. Imagine my surprise when investigating their ingredient list revealed nothing remotely old-fashioned about their production!
Utz uses enriched flour stripped of natural nutrients then artificially fortified – a modern nutritional shell game. Their pretzels also contain ammonium bicarbonate, an industrial compound also used in cleaning products and fertilizers. Last Thanksgiving, I brought these to a family gathering before learning they contain undeclared wheat starch that triggered my cousin’s mild gluten sensitivity.
The company’s environmental record doesn’t improve their standing either. Their packaging remains non-recyclable in most municipalities, and their production facilities have faced multiple EPA citations for emissions violations. “Old-fashioned” apparently doesn’t extend to old-fashioned corporate responsibility!