J Nutr Health.  2021 Oct;54(5):560-572. 10.4163/jnh.2021.54.5.560.

Status of serving labeling of home meal replacement-soups and stews, and evaluation of their energy and nutrient content per serving

• Kim MH
• Choi IY
• Yeon JY

• KMID: 2522205
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4163/jnh.2021.54.5.560

Abstract

Purpose
In this study, the serving size of home meal replacement (HMR)-soups (Guk, Tang) and stews (Jjigae) available in the Korean market was investigated, and an evaluation of the nutrition per serving was conducted based on the nutrition labeling.
Methods
The market research was conducted from March to August 2021 on products sold on the internet, convenience stores, supermarkets, and hypermarkets. A total of 370 products were investigated and classified into 3 types: Guk (n = 129), Tang (n = 132), and Jjigae (n = 109).
Results
An analysis of the survey revealed that 72.9% of Guk, 71.2% of Tang, and 79.8% of Jjigae had labels with servings per container, and 89.2% of Guk, 91.7% of Tang, and 99.1% of Jjigae had labels with nutrition facts. The nutritional evaluation per serving of Guk, Tang, and Jjigae was conducted for 259 products (87 Guk, 86 Tang, and 86 Jjigae) having labels containing both the servings per container and nutrition facts. The average serving size of Tang was 367.6 g, which was significantly higher than Guk (325.3 g) and Jjigae (305.1 g) (p < 0.001). The calorie content of Jjigae (171.4 kcal) and Tang (162.3 kcal) was significantly higher than Guk (90.8 kcal) (p < 0.001), and the protein content was the highest in Tang (16.3 g) (p < 0.001). The sodium content per serving of Jjigae (1,479.0 mg) was significantly higher than Guk (1,073.3 mg) and Tang (959.8 mg) (p < 0.001). The percent daily value per serving of all three types was less than 10% on average for calories and 15–30% for protein, whereas for sodium showed an average of around 50% (48–74%).
Conclusion
The serving size and nutritional value per serving of the HMR-soups and stews found in this study can be used as basic data to establish the reference serving size.

Keyword

home meal replacement; soup; stew; serving size; nutrition labeling