Sweet Baby Gherkins — DUMP

Name: Sweet Baby Gherkins
Brand: Mt. Olive Pickle Company Inc.

Munch or Dump rates Sweet Baby Gherkins by Mt. Olive Pickle Company Inc. DUMP — score 20/90.

What should be cucumbers in brine is really sugar water with an artificial dye. High fructose corn syrup is the #2 ingredient, propped up by alum, sodium benzoate, polysorbate 80, and Yellow 5 food coloring.

Why this verdict

High fructose corn syrup is the #2 ingredient — these are basically sugar pickles (9g sugar/serving)
Yellow 5, a synthetic petroleum-based dye, added only for color
Polysorbate 80 emulsifier and sodium benzoate preservative — additives a real pickle never needs
Alum and calcium chloride stack on top for artificial crunch
Reads as ultra-processed (NOVA 4) despite starting from a vegetable

Ingredients (11)

Cucumbers (safe) — The actual vegetable base; fine on its own.
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.
Water (safe) — Inert; just adjusts texture.
Salt (moderate) — Added sodium for flavour.
calcium chloride (safe) — A firming salt that helps the curd set; harmless in these tiny amounts.
Alum (moderate) — Aluminum-based firming agent; not something you'd add to fresh-pickled cucumbers.
sodium benzoate (moderate) — Preservative; can form trace benzene with vitamin C and a marker of ultra-processing.
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 (concerning) — Tartrazine, a synthetic dye tied to hyperactivity and allergic reactions in some people.