Ratatouille Provençale — OKAY

Munch or Dump rates Ratatouille Provençale by by Sainsbury's OKAY — score 58/90.

Credit where due: this tin is 94% actual vegetables and scores a Nutri-Score A. But Provence would like a word about the sunflower oil where olive oil belongs, the added sugar, and the 'deliciously thick sauce' that's thick because of modified maize starch. Good canned vegetables wearing a light industrial jacket.

Why this verdict

• Genuinely vegetable-led: tomatoes 43%, courgette 34%, plus aubergine, peppers, and onion — 94% of the tin is real food
• Modified maize starch does the thickening a slow-cooked ratatouille does by itself — a NOVA 4 marker in an otherwise clean tin
• Added sugar in a dish that ripe tomatoes should sweeten on their own
• Sunflower oil instead of the olive oil any Provençal cook would reach for
• Low sugar (4g/100g), moderate salt (0.55g/100g), 52 kcal/100g — the numbers themselves are honest

Ingredients (13)

• Tomatoes (43%) (safe) — Real tomato, the dominant ingredient; fibre, lycopene, vitamin C.
• Courgette (34%) (safe) — Whole vegetable, water-rich and low calorie.
• Aubergine (6%) (safe) — Whole vegetable with fibre.
• Mixed Peppers (6%) (safe) — Real peppers; vitamin C and antioxidants.
• Onion (5%) (safe) — Whole aromatic vegetable.
• Sunflower Oil (moderate) — Refined seed oil; fine in the modest amounts used here.
• Sugar (moderate) — Added for sweetness, can contribute to calorie content.
• Modified Maize Starch (moderate) — Industrial texturizer/thickener; a NOVA-4 marker that signals processing, not nutrition.
• Salt (moderate) — Used in moderation, might exceed necessary amount.
• GARLIC (safe) — Real aromatic. Whole food.
• lemon juice from concentrate (safe) — Acidity and brightness from real lemon; harmless.
• PEPPER (safe) — Whole ground peppercorn; piperine aids absorption of other compounds.
• THYME (safe) — Real dried herb.