Worst Offender of the Month: Sapporo Ichiban

For less than a dollar a package, it might have been your staple food throughout college or the first year of living on your own, but once you see what’s inside the cheap little bags, you’ll wish that you spent more on quality food and less on beer and socializing. 

Flavor:  Sapporo Ichiban Ramen - Original Flavor - 3.5 oz.

Ingredients: Noodle:  Enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin),  partially hydrogenated palm oil, potato starch, salt, soy sauce, guar gum, sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate. Soup Base:  Salt, monosodium glutamate, sugar, lactose, soy sauce powder with dextrin, onion powder, leek chips, caramel color, spices, hydrolyzed plant protein (corn, soy bean, wheat), non fat dry milk, natural flavor, disodium succinate, malic acid, corn and sesame oil, garlic powder, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate and sodium citrate.

The Bottom Line Is: As far away from a natural food as you can get, Sapporo Ichiban Ramen noodles contain trans fats (partially hydrogenated palm oil), is very high in sodium (687 mg per serving), and full of artificial flavors including MSG. The serving size suggests that each little bag contains three servings, but most people can (and do) easily eat an entire bag – that triples the sodium, calories, fat and artificial ingredients. This product gets ‘thumbs down’ all around.

To see our list of the worst ingredients in food, click here.

For the entire list of ingredients to avoid in food, check out Unjunk Your Junk Food.