Banquet Chicken Pot Pie, 7 oz — DUMP
Munch or Dump rates Banquet Chicken Pot Pie, 7 oz by Banquet DUMP — score 20/90.
The $1.50 price tag is honest; the pie isn't. The 'chicken' is chicken roll and mechanically separated chicken glued together with phosphates, and the flaky crust gets there with hydrogenated lard preserved by BHT. Trans-fat territory — automatic dump, no appeal.
Why this verdict
- Hydrogenated lard in the crust — hydrogenated fats are an automatic DUMP, no exceptions
- BHT preservative and caramel color baked into a 'homestyle' pie
- 'Chicken' means cooked chicken roll and mechanically separated chicken bound with sodium tripolyphosphate
- Hydrolyzed soy protein plus autolyzed yeast extract — a classic MSG-style flavor enhancer stack
- Well over 18 ingredients, with roughly 750-850mg sodium and 9g saturated fat in one small pie
Ingredients (10)
- Hydrogenated lard (avoid) — Hydrogenation creates trans fats — the one fat category with no safe intake level. Hard-rule disqualifier.
- BHT (avoid) — Second synthetic preservative; banned or restricted in several countries.
- Mechanically Separated Chicken (avoid) — Pressure-recovered meat paste — the lowest-grade meat input allowed in the product.
- SODIUM TRIPOLYPHOSPHATE (caution) — Phosphate binder used twice to hold processed meat together and retain water weight.
- Hydrolyzed Soy Protein (caution) — Free-glutamate flavor booster — MSG's job under a different name.
- autolyzed yeast extract (caution) — Second glutamate source stacked with the hydrolyzed soy — engineered savoriness.
- caramel color (caution) — Cosmetic coloring; some classes carry 4-MEI concerns.
- Modified Corn Starch (caution) — Industrially altered starch, a NOVA 4 marker.
- Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate (moderate) — Industrial dough conditioner/emulsifier.
- Carrots, peas, potatoes (safe) — The actual vegetables — the redeeming few.