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Great Value Sweet Relish
Photo: Open Food Facts contributors (CC BY-SA)

Vegetables based foods

Great Value Sweet Relish

12 fl oz/355 mL

Bad out of 100 Medium confidence
  • Ultra-processed
  • High in sugar
  • High in salt
  • Contains added sugars
  • Contains emulsifiers studied for gut effects
  • May contain traces of 1,4-dioxane
  • No synthetic dyes
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Why it scores 7

Great Value Sweet Relish scores 7 out of 100 (Bad) under GoodSwap’s published rules. What moved the score most:

  1. Corn syrup: An added sugar. Strong
  2. High fructose corn syrup: An added sugar. Strong
  3. Ultra-processed (NOVA 4): Classified NOVA 4: made with industrial ingredients and additives. Strong

Every line of the math is on The Receipt below, with its evidence tier and sources.

Better relish, peppers and pickled vegetables

The same kind of product, at least 10 points higher, sold in the US. Never paid placements.

The Receipt

Sweet Relish

START100

Ingredients

  • Corn syrup
    Strong An added sugar. [1][2][3]
  • High fructose corn syrup
    Strong An added sugar. [1][2][3][4]
  • Sodium benzoate
    Strong Benzoates can form small amounts of benzene in drinks that also contain ascorbic acid (vitamin C), especially with heat or light. [5][6][7]
  • Polysorbate 80
    Strong In mice, polysorbate 80 altered the gut microbiota and promoted low-grade inflammation and metabolic syndrome; human evidence is limited. [8][9]
subtotal−50

Processing

  • Ultra-processed (NOVA 4)
    Strong Classified NOVA 4: made with industrial ingredients and additives. [10]
  • 6 kinds of ultra-processing markers
    Emerging Industrial additive classes found: color (added), emulsifier, firming agent, flavoring, industrial sugar or starch hydrolysate and thickener, stabilizer or gelling agent. [10]
subtotal−25.5

Nutrition per 100 g

  • Sugars 26.7 g / 100 g
    Strong Very high in sugar. [1]
  • Salt 2 g / 100 g
    Strong Very high in salt. [11]
subtotal−18
TOTAL 7Bad

100 − 93.5 = 6.5 → 7

Can’t score above 79. Contains corn syrup, an ingredient of high concern. [1][2][3][4]

Can’t score above 79. High in sugars and salt (above the front-of-pack "high" level). [12]

GTIN 00078742236667 · 2026-04-14

score v1.3.0 · kb 2026.10.11

Medium confidence

Same product, same score. Every time.

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy133 kcal
Fat0 g
Saturated fat0 g
Trans fat0 g
Carbohydrates33.3 g
Sugars26.7 g
Added sugars26.7 g
Fiber0 g
Protein0 g
Salt2 g

Serving: 1 Tbsp (15 g)

Ingredients

High Moderate Not recognized Tap an ingredient for its evidence and rules.
Label text, as published

CUCUMBERS, CORN SYRUP, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, VINEGAR, SALT, WATER, RED BELL PEPPER, SODIUM BENZOATE (PRESERVATIVE), ALUM, XANTHAN GUM, CALCIUM CHLORIDE (FIRMING AGENT), NATURAL FLAVORS, POLYSORBATE 80, TURMERIC (FOR COLOR).

Allergens and diets

  • Palm-oil-free

Always check the package: recipes change.

More from Great Value

Sources

  1. Guideline: sugars intake for adults and children

    World Health Organization · Mar 4, 2015 · Agency assessment

    “In both adults and children, WHO recommends reducing the intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake”

    who.int

  2. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030

    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture · January 2026 · Regulator

    “Limit foods and beverages that include artificial flavors, petroleum-based dyes, artificial preservatives, and low-calorie non-nutritive sweeteners.”

    cdn.realfood.gov

  3. Added and free sugars should be as low as possible

    European Food Safety Authority · Feb 28, 2022 · Agency assessment

    “Sugar consumption is a known cause of dental caries.”

    efsa.europa.eu

  4. 21 CFR 184.1866 High fructose corn syrup

    Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), U.S. Office of the Federal Register · Mar 24, 2023 · Law

    “a sweet, nutritive saccharide mixture containing either approximately 42 or 55 percent fructose”

    ecfr.gov

  5. Benzene production from decarboxylation of benzoic acid in the presence of ascorbic acid and a transition-metal catalyst

    Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry · May 1993 · Peer-reviewed

    doi.org

  6. Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial

    The Lancet · November 2007 · Peer-reviewed

    “Artificial colours or a sodium benzoate preservative (or both) in the diet result in increased hyperactivity in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the general population.”

    doi.org

  7. Re-evaluation of benzyl alcohol (E 1519) as food additive (records the 2016 benzoate re-evaluation)

    European Food Safety Authority · Oct 30, 2019 · Agency assessment

    “derived a group ADI of 5 mg/kg bw per day (expressed as benzoic acid) in accordance with the ADI previously derived by SCF and JECFA”

    doi.org

  8. Dietary emulsifiers impact the mouse gut microbiota promoting colitis and metabolic syndrome

    Nature · Mar 5, 2015 · Peer-reviewed

    “carboxymethylcellulose and polysorbate-80, induced low-grade inflammation and obesity/metabolic syndrome in wild-type hosts and promoted robust colitis in mice predisposed to this disorder.”

    doi.org

  9. Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of polysorbates (E 432–436) as food additives

    European Food Safety Authority · Jul 17, 2015 · Agency assessment

    “There is no concern regarding genotoxicity, carcinogenicity or developmental toxicity.”

    doi.org

  10. Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them

    Public Health Nutrition · April 2019 · Peer-reviewed

    doi.org

  11. Sodium reduction (fact sheet)

    World Health Organization · May 11, 2026 · Agency assessment

    “For adults, WHO recommends less than 2000 mg/day of sodium (equivalent to less than 5 g/day salt), or just under a teaspoon.”

    who.int

  12. Guide to creating a front of pack (FoP) nutrition label for pre-packed products sold through retail outlets

    Department of Health and Social Care / Food Standards Agency (GOV.UK) · Nov 8, 2016 · Regulator

    “Table 3: Criteria for drinks (per 100ml)”

    assets.publishing.service.gov.uk

  13. Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses

    BMJ · Feb 28, 2024 · Peer-reviewed

    “Greater exposure to ultra-processed food was associated with a higher risk of adverse health outcomes, especially cardiometabolic, common mental disorder, and mortality outcomes.”

    doi.org

  14. Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake

    Cell Metabolism · July 2019 · Peer-reviewed

    doi.org

  15. Randomized Controlled-Feeding Study of Dietary Emulsifier Carboxymethylcellulose Reveals Detrimental Impacts on the Gut Microbiota and Metabolome

    Gastroenterology · March 2022 · Peer-reviewed

    “Relative to control subjects, CMC consumption modestly increased postprandial abdominal discomfort and perturbed gut microbiota composition in a way that reduced its diversity.”

    doi.org

  16. Food additive emulsifiers and risk of cardiovascular disease in the NutriNet-Santé cohort: prospective cohort study

    BMJ · Sep 6, 2023 · Peer-reviewed

    “This study found positive associations between risk of CVD and intake of five individual and two groups of food additive emulsifiers widely used in industrial foods.”

    doi.org

  17. 1,4-Dioxane in Cosmetics: A Manufacturing Byproduct

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration · Regulator

    “1,4-dioxane forms as a byproduct during the manufacturing process of certain cosmetic ingredients.”

    fda.gov

  18. Agents Classified by the IARC Monographs, Volumes 1–142 (List of Classifications)

    International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO) · IARC

    monographs.iarc.who.int