Is Walmart trying to hide something about its spices? That’s the question a TikToker raised after highlighting a strange message on a plastic tube of Great Value chili flakes they said they purchased.
Customer Marco Nichols (@marco_nichols) expressed concern about the lack of ingredients listed on the nutritional label of a Great Value product in a TikTok where it has garnered over 912,000 views as of Friday.
In the clip, he pointed out that a container of Great Value crushed red pepper flakes didn’t even print its ingredients on the package’s label, making him reluctant to use it on his food.
The TikToker holds up the container to show off its nutritional contents, saying, “The red chili flakes I’m not f*ckin’ with it. ‘For nutritional information contact address above,’” he reads off the label. “I’m about to throw this sh*t in the trash ’cause why doesn’t it got the f*cking. What is it? What is it? I don’t know.”
@marco_nichols Im done wit greatvalue #greatvalue #fake #food #viral #fyp ♬ original sound – Marco
According to the University of California, Davis, most companies must provide nutritional food information for their products, but there are some exemptions for small businesses. If you started looking through your cupboards right now, you probably wouldn’t find a single product in your stash of foodstuffs that doesn’t have its ingredients and health macro data printed on its packaging.
However, according to UC Davis, this information doesn’t necessarily need to be printed on the label, it just needs to be accessible to consumers. The school writes, “Food Labeling & Nutrition (FDA) Nutritional labels are required on most food products. Small businesses can claim an exemption from Nutritional Labeling requirements. However, it is common to have a nutritional label prepared and available for customers upon request even if it doesn’t appear on the label.”
Some commenters thought that his trepidation was unfounded, but others found it strange that the company asked customers to contact the company by mail on the label instead of simply printing its ingredients on the package.
A number of commenters seemed to think that Nichols’ fears about there being strange additives in Great Value’s red crushed pepper flakes were unfounded because the name of the product indicates its ingredients already, similar to buying a bottle of water.
“Man where tf the ingredient list on this bottle of water?? it says water on the front, but no list???” a user said.
Another echoed this sentiment, penning, “It’s no list bc it tells you what it is.”
“It’s red pepper flakes unaltered so they don’t have to list ingredients because there’s one and it’s on the front,” another wrote.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Walmart via email and Nichols via Instagram direct message for further comment.
Judging from the photos of the crushed red pepper product on Walmart’s website, it appears that the label does contain the same message Nichols showed off in his video—however, a clear image of that particular side of the label isn’t fully displayed online.
