Clover Valley Sweet Relish — ENGINEERED

Name: Clover Valley Sweet Relish
Brand: Clover Valley

Munch or Dump rates Clover Valley Sweet Relish by Clover Valley ENGINEERED — score 30/90.

A jar of cucumbers turned into a sugar delivery system: corn syrup AND high fructose corn syrup are the top added ingredients, plus an artificial color and an emulsifier you'd never need to pickle a cucumber.

Why this verdict

Two added sugars (corn syrup + high fructose corn syrup) dominate after the cucumbers
Yellow 5, an artificial petroleum-based dye, for color it doesn't need
Polysorbate 80 emulsifier and alum firming agent in a simple pickle product
Sodium benzoate preservative and NOVA 4 ultra-processed classification

Ingredients (14)

Cucumbers (safe) — The actual vegetable base; fine on its own.
Corn Syrup (concerning) — Refined glucose syrup added purely for sweetness and body; spikes blood sugar with zero nutrition.
High Fructose Corn Syrup (concerning) — Industrially processed sweetener linked to fatty liver and metabolic strain when consumed regularly; flatly contradicts the 'all natural' positioning.
vinegar (safe) — Standard acidifier for tang and preservation.
Salt (moderate) — Added sodium for flavour.
Water (safe) — Inert; just adjusts texture.
Red Bell Pepper (safe) — Real vegetable for color and flavor.
sodium benzoate (moderate) — Preservative; can form trace benzene with vitamin C and a marker of ultra-processing.
Alum (moderate) — Aluminum-based firming agent; not something you'd add to fresh-pickled cucumbers.
Xanthan Gum (moderate) — Lab-produced stabilizer for texture; mild gut effects in large amounts.
calcium chloride (safe) — A firming salt that helps the curd set; harmless in these tiny amounts.
Natural Flavors (moderate) — Undisclosed flavor blend that does the heavy lifting where real acai/blueberry/pomegranate would be.
POLYSORBATE 80 (concerning) — Synthetic emulsifier linked in studies to gut-lining irritation; no business in a pickle jar.
Yellow 5 (tartrazine) (concerning) — Artificial petroleum-derived dye linked to hyperactivity in sensitive children. Purely cosmetic.