Families planning quick holiday lunches
If soup is a convenient lunch at home, compare the amount a child is likely to eat with the labelled serving. Flavour, salt and ingredients matter alongside the sugars figure.
Who is choosing these soups?
Families who favour creamy tomato soup
A no-added-sugar tomato recipe keeps the familiar flavour format without implying that the soup contains no total sugars. Check its sweetener and milk ingredients if either matters to your household.
Households checking allergens
Recipes cannot be treated as interchangeable because they have different ingredient and allergen declarations. Read the label on the exact tin before serving it.
What should you compare?
Start with flavour a child will accept, then compare nutrition on the same quantity of soup and check the ingredients on the tin you intend to serve.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Total sugars | Compare the sugars row per 100g or per equal serving sizes. A no-added-sugar claim is not a zero-total-sugars claim; the Heinz tomato version lists 5.3g per half-can, according to Sainsbury's. | I want to compare what is in each portion, not choose from the claim on the front. In the Food Standards Agency and Ipsos Northern Ireland's 2024 survey of 611 Northern Ireland adults, 49% said they actively used traffic-light labelling when shopping for food; that figure is not specific to soup or parents. |
| Free versus total sugars | The NHS distinguishes free sugars from the total sugars shown on food labels. Use the label figure to compare tins, not as an exact free-sugars calculation. | When comparing lunch options, I need to understand what the sugars number measures before using it to make a choice. |
| Salt | Read salt alongside sugars for the same serving. Sainsbury's lists 1.2g salt per half-can for Heinz Potato & Leek and 0.8g for Heinz No Added Sugar Cream of Tomato. | A lower sugars figure alone is not enough for me to choose between these flavours. |
| Flavour and ingredients | Check whether the recipe is tomato, potato and leek, or vegetable and pasta. Read the ingredient list for sweeteners and any allergens relevant to your household. | If creamy tomato is the flavour my child accepts, I need to weigh that against the figures on a different soup. |
| Portion size | Check the labelled serving against the amount you intend to serve. Where tins use different serving sizes, compare their per-100g figures instead. | I may serve less or more than half a can, so a half-can figure will not always describe the portion on the plate. |
What is easy to overlook?
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Reading ‘no added sugar’ as ‘no sugar’
Heinz No Added Sugar Cream of Tomato still lists 5.3g total sugars per half-can on Sainsbury's product page.
Read the sugars row as well as the claim, and compare tins per 100g or on an equal serving basis. Total sugars are not an exact measure of free sugars.
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Comparing sugars but not salt
According to Sainsbury's listings, Heinz Potato & Leek and Heinz Minestrone each list 1.2g salt per half-can; Heinz No Added Sugar Cream of Tomato lists 0.8g.
Keep both figures in view when deciding which flavour and portion suit your lunch.
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Treating vegetable soups as interchangeable
The researched recipes have different ingredient declarations, including milk in creamy recipes and celery and celeriac in the Heinz Minestrone listing.
Check the allergen declaration on the exact can before comparing its flavour or nutrition with another recipe.
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Choosing from the product name alone
Similar-looking tomato soups can list different sugars figures: Sainsbury's gives 9.7g per half-can for standard Heinz Cream of Tomato and 5.3g for the no-added-sugar version.
Use the current can to check nutrition, ingredients, allergens and storage instructions rather than inferring them from a name such as ‘low fat’.
Relevant brand references
Heinz
The researched Heinz 400g recipes illustrate why flavour and the exact variant matter in a sugars comparison.
- Sainsbury's lists 1.6g sugars per half-can for Potato & Leek and 5.3g for No Added Sugar Cream of Tomato.
- Their listed salt figures also differ: 1.2g and 0.8g per half-can respectively. Check the ingredients and allergens for the recipe you choose.
Sainsbury's
Its own-label Cream of Tomato provides a familiar 400g tomato-soup comparison.
- Sainsbury's lists 11.5g sugars and 0.89g salt per labelled half-can.
- Sugar appears in the listed ingredients; compare the current label if avoiding added sugar is part of the decision.
M&S
Its Cream of Tomato is another creamy tomato recipe to compare by nutrition and ingredients.
- M&S lists 5.9g sugars and 0.45g salt per 100g for this soup.
- Sugar and milk ingredients appear in the product information. M&S advises shoppers to check the current label because product information can change.
Tinned soup options on Joybuy
These options cover a potato-and-leek soup, a spicy parsnip-and-carrot soup and a sausage-and-vegetable soup. Compare the label of each recipe for the sugars, salt and ingredients that matter to your lunch.
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Heinz Potato & Leek Soup 400g
Consider the potato-and-leek flavour if it suits the lunch you are planning. Sainsbury's lists 1.6g sugars and 1.2g salt per half-can for the researched recipe, which is labelled no added sugar. Check the current can for its ingredients and allergen declaration.
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Crosse & Blackwell Best of British Spicy Parsnip & Carrot Soup 400g
The spicy parsnip-and-carrot flavour is a different choice from creamy tomato or potato and leek. Check whether that flavour will suit the child, then compare sugars and salt on the current can using the same quantity as other soups.
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Heinz Big Soup Sausage & Vegetable 400g
For a sausage-and-vegetable recipe, check the current ingredients if avoiding added sugars is important. Compare its sugars and salt per 100g with the other tins, and read the allergen declaration before serving.
Common questions
Does ‘no added sugar’ mean a soup contains no sugar?
No. Sainsbury's lists 5.3g total sugars per half-can for Heinz No Added Sugar Cream of Tomato. Read the nutrition panel to compare total sugars rather than treating the claim as ‘sugar-free’.
Is a sugars claim enough to choose between two soups?
No. Compare the sugars figures for equal quantities, then check salt, ingredients and whether the flavour will be eaten. Sainsbury's lists 1.6g sugars and 1.2g salt per half-can for Heinz Potato & Leek, compared with 5.3g sugars and 0.8g salt for Heinz No Added Sugar Cream of Tomato.
Can I use total sugars as an exact figure for free sugars?
No. The NHS explains that a label's total-sugars figure can include sugars naturally present in ingredients such as milk and vegetables. It helps you compare tins but is not an exact free-sugars calculation.
What should I check for allergies before serving soup?
Read the ingredient and allergen declaration on the exact can. The researched creamy recipes include milk ingredients, while the Heinz Minestrone listing identifies celery and celeriac. Do not assume that soups with similar names or vegetable ingredients have the same allergen profile.