OMG!! Steel's Cocktail Sauce - HIDDEN CARBS!?!? Help!
 

OH BOY!!! I think I just took a huge blow to my "clean" induction so far. I waited a week to get a bottle of Steel's Cocktail Sauce so I could try it with some shrimp. Everywhere you look it is advertised as "less than 2 grams of carbs per serving!" A serving is 4 Tbsp.

Check the page from their very own website with a nutrition label by CLICKING HERE!

So I pour out 4 tablespoons, get some boiled shrimp and enjoy. The stuff is truly "incredible" tasting. I loved it! While I'm eating, I am reading the label and it says:

Calories - 36
Total Carb - 1 gram
Fiber - .5 gram
Sugars (fructose) 1 gram (This confused me a little since the sugar and fiber equaled more than the lsited total carb.)
Fat - 0 gram
Protein - 1 gram

So, I decided to do the math and back out the carbs for the 4 Tbsp. serving via the established formula of: TC = 9f + 4p + 4c.

36 = (9 x 0) + (4 x 1) + 4c
36 = 4 + 4c
32 = 4c

CARBS = 8 Gram !?!?!?! WTH!?!?!?

Is this correct?!? Are these guys simply crazy with their claim of "less than 2 carbs per serving"?? I even ran this through the Hidden Carb Calculator listed on the right and "still" get 8 carbs!

If this is "really" 8 carbs versus 2 - just how in Sam Hill can they so proudly make their Low Carb claim and get away with this?

PLEASE, please, somebody put my mind at ease. Show me the error of my ways. Correct my math. Do ANYTHING, but don't tell me I just ingested 8 carbs thinking it was less than 2. GRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....... (and this stuff tastes soooooo good!)

Thanks to all who reply!

JFF:(

Sorry, JFF...unless there is an error in the labeling, there are 8 grams of carb (calculated by the total calories, grams of carb, fat and protein) in what you just ate.
The only thing I can think of is that they included the Splenda in the total calorie count, which they should have if they used granular Splenda. If they used liquid Splenda, then there is something wrong with that label. Either the total calorie count is wrong or the total carb count is wrong.

Glad I read this post. I almost bought this 2 days ago. It's good to know before hand that's for sure.

I read someplace that if you were to eat any crustateous food and normally use cocktail sauce to not use it anymore to use a butter and garlic sauce. That is what I use. Just a thought. Thanks for the post.

Man...this steams me! So you agree with me Lisa N? I was secretly hoping that somehow I had bungled the calculation.

I am now sitting at 18 carbs today with dinner left to go. Guess I am eating "lite" tonight. LOL :)

This has bothered me so much that I have fired off an email to the company and asked them to explain how they arrive at those numbers on the label. I also pointed them towards this thread so they know that we are all eagerly anticipating their input.

We will see if we get any reply from them. Hopefully they can clear this up and put our minds at ease.

Now to figure out a "2 carb" dinner. Any ideas??

JFF:D

I would skip the sauce and stick to natural foods as much as possible anyway. I just love the taste of seafood on its own.

JFF

Good grief! I love this stuff, but have never looked for the 'hidden carbs' in it. I'm hoping you get some really good explanation for the discrepancy. Please let us know if you hear back from your e-mail.

Linda

How do you define "natural"?
 

Well, if you look at the label and "believe" the ingredient list, it seems "very" natural to me.

Ingredients:
Steel's sugar-free ketchup (tomato paste, water, onions, cider vinegar, inulin, kosher salt, cloves, cinnamon, mustard, celery seed, black pepper, cayenne pepper, sucraloseTM), lemon juice, horseradish, dill weed, sucraloseTM (Splendaâ brand sweetener), and salt.

Aside from the Splenda and the "inulin" (what the heck is that?) is seems to be a very "natural" concoction if you ask me.

This has been my first try at a "low-carb" product. Aside from this, I have followed a very strict and "clean" induction for my first 11 days.

And as far as why use this over butter and garlic? Because I like cocktail sauce. Thinking I had discovered a low carb version was an added incentive to give it a go. If it hadn't been advertised as "low- carb", this product would have NEVER entered my kitchen and I most likely would not have even had the shrimp.

Oh well...live and learn.

JFF:D

I too, am interested in hearing your response from Steel. I miss cocktail sauce!!!!! Have been making a mixture of mayo and horseradish. It's just not the same as cocktail sauce, but it does help, alittle.

How about meat (your choice) and some steamed buttered spinach? Spinach is high in fiber and therefore very low in carbs. :) Otherwise I wouldn't sweat going a couple of grams of carb over at dinner with veggies. I think most of us have been tricked by inaccurate labeling at one time or another. Me...I just learn from the experience and move on instead of stressing over it.
As for the cocktail sauce, do you have access to Keto Ketchup in your area? If so, you can make your own cocktail sauce by using the Keto Ketchup and then adding ground horshradish to it to taste; that's basically all cocktail sauce really is.
Don't forget...shellfish have some carbs as well. :rolleyes:

p.s. as to your 2 carb dinner. Sounds like protein only tonite. And water. (ha ha)

Listen, Eat a sensable meal tonite. Salad, veggie, meat. Tomorrow is another day and you have a lifetime of this way of eating to go. Just take it ONE DAY AT A TIME.

Here...I'm suffering from PMS today. Let me email them for you. Once I'm done with them they'll have that label changed by Monday..... ;)

Well, frankly, I'm not that worried about Steels. I make my own with Westbrae unsweetend un-Ketchup, add lemon joice and horseradish to taste, a dash of Worchestershire sauce, and it's great. Another good choice is sour cream and horseradish mustard mixed together which, odd as it sounds, is terrific with cold boiled shrimp.

I'm not even going to go check the label on my Steels Hoisin sauce. I've done as well as I need to be doing without sweating every single detail. Unless you are planning to have this seafood sauce every day, Justfor Fun, you'll probably be fine.

I don't mean to belittle the idea of keeping an eye out for carb creep, but for things you eat less than once a week, and in small amounts, don't lose your head if you have misinterpreted the label. Not worth anguishing over. JMO.

Kay

HAHAHA!! That really put a laugh in my belly! And it was ZERO carbs! :)

Seriously folks, I'm not sweating the fact that I may slightly go over "20 carbs" tonight with dinner (all good foods I assure you). I can deal with that. Besides, I have lost very well on Induction so far, so I can't complain about a one-day "hiccup".

The thing that really sticks in my craw is that I was misled. If it were only a 1 or 2 carb difference, maybe I wouldn't be so concerend.

But an 8 carb difference is another matter entirely. That equates to a 300% difference in carb grams than what they proclaim all over their bottle and the sites that sell their product. I find this unacceptable. I am lucky to have discovered the problem after eating this only once. What about all the people on this board that are eating this product and other Steel's products that have no idea? 8 grams is nearly half of the daily carb allowance for people on Induction. I made this post in the hope that others might benefit and also that we might get an explanation from Steel's

I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt hwoever and wait to see if they respond to me. It may simply be an inadvertent labeling error which they may need to correct. We will see what evolves.

And I still am not clear on how it can list Total carbs at 1, but show fiber at .5 and sugars at 1 carb. Last I checked 1 plus .5 equals 1.5, which is "more" than their Total carbs listed. Something ain't right and I hope to find out what it is.

JFF:D

Do you think they are counting the "O mg" of Fat as "almost one gram" which would add almost 9 Kcals? Then the 0.5 mg of fiber could be 2-4 cals.
Would this help? I know that lableing laws are freaky.I would just use a teensy bit of this if I wanted to have it w/ shrimp, but not 4 TBSP.

I'm sorry, this may be a dumb question but could you explain where the 32 = 4c came from? Is that 36 cals. - 4 protein = 32 = 4(carbs)? Then you divide 32 cals / 4(carbs)?
Also, when do you check for hidden carbs? I've never even thought about it, I just subtract the fiber from the TC's. Have I been screwing up all along?
Thanks,
Alli

No such thing as a dumb question. This is just basic Algebra.

36 = 4 + 4c

Now, you solve for "c" by subtracting 4 from both sides of the equation.

36 - 4 = 4 + 4c - 4

32 = 4c

Then solve for c by dividing both sides by 4

32 divided by 4 equals 8; 4c divide by 4 equals "c"

8 = c

"c" represents the number of carb grams.

I think you understood it.

JFF:D

listen to lisa! it's nothing to stress out about!! check atkin's recipe section for dinner. you don't have to have carbs for dinner. you'll eventually be comfortable and not be concerned with how many carbs you're eating. i became as unconcerned (i AM still eating healthy, yes) when i realized i was obsessed with every little carb put in my mouth.and i know you want to stay around 20g, but sometimes things happen. it was unintentional on your part. so don't worry, i'm sure you are going to do just fine.

In the Hidden Carb Inspector what exactly does this mean?

Calculated Information Carb Factor is x.

Further down it says, Acutal carb count is x.

Which number do we use as the ACTUAL NET CARBS PER SERVING?

Thank you Justforfun :)
Alli

blueflyer,

Until I hear differently, I am using 8 carb grams per serving.

According to the bottle, a "serving" is 4 tablespooons. If you use less, divide accordingly.

JFF:D

subtracting the fiber (and sugar alcohols) from the total carb count to get a net count is correct, this is just a way of finding out how many carbs are actually in a product (some seemingly LC products don't have exactly the amount listed - as in this case).

Basically
Total Cals = (9 x fat) + (4 x carbs) + (4 x protein)

In case you want to check any foods yourself, there is a hidden carb inspector link to the right -------->
(but remember it does not know the ingredients so will count sugar alcohols as carbs)

OK. Can someone double check this for me to see if I did it right?

calories = 170
Fat = 9
Total Carbs = 5
Protein = 20
Fiber = 4

I get 2.25 , in another thread it was mentioned that if the calories weren't the same to subtract fiber ???? BTW - the net carbs advertised for this were 1 gram.
Thanks again,
Alli

Oops! I'll check the hidden carb calculator .... :blush:

Alli

Ummmmmmmmmm allibabba, your numbers are all mixed up.

Are you doing the calculation for a single serving?? That is how you find the "hidden" carbs.

Per Serving
Total Cals = (9 x fat) + (4 x protein) + (4 x carbs)

soooooooooooo....subsititute the values from the label.

36 = (9 x 0) + (4 x 1) + (4 x 1)
36 = 0 + 4 + 4
36 = 8

They don't equal....so you "know" that some carbs are "missing". To find out how many, solve the equation for the "carb variable", where "c" represents the actual carbs.

36 = (9 x 0) + (4 x 1) + (4 x actual carbs)
36 = 0 + 4 + 4c
32 = 4c
c = 8

Now put your new carb count back into the above formula:

36 = (9 x 0) + (4 x 1) + (4 x 8)
36 = 0 + 4 + 32
36 = 36

The calories now equal, thus proving that the "actual" carb count is 8 grams.

Hope this makes it clearer.

JFF:D

36 = (9 x 0) + (4 x 1) + (4 x 1)
36 = 0 + 4 + 4
36 = 8

They don't equal....so you "know" that some carbs are "missing". To find out how many, solve the equation for the "carb variable", where "c" represents the actual carbs.

36 = (9 x 0) + (4 x 1) + (4 x actual carbs)
36 = 0 + 4 + 4c
32 = 4c
c = 8

???????

(Brain Explosion from excessive math)

Per Serving
Total Cals = (9 x fat) + (4 x protein) + (4 x carbs)

soooooooooooo....subsititute the values from the label.

36 = (9 x 0) + (4 x 1) + (4 x 1) 170 = (9 x 9) + (4 x 20) + (4 X 5)
36 = 0 + 4 + 4 170 = 81 + 80 + 20
36 = 8 170 = 181

They don't equal....so you "know" that some carbs are "missing". To find out how many, solve the equation for the "carb variable", where "c" represents the actual carbs.

36 = (9 x 0) + (4 x 1) + (4 x actual carbs) 170 = (9 x 9) + (4 x 20) + (4 x c)
36 = 0 + 4 + 4c 170 = 81 + 80 + 4c
32 = 4c 9 = 4c
c = 8 c = 2.25
Now put your new carb count back into the above formula:

36 = (9 x 0) + (4 x 1) + (4 x 8) 170 = (9 x 9) + (4 x 20) + (4 x 2.25)
36 = 0 + 4 + 32 170 = 81 + 80 + 9
36 = 36 170 = 170

I got it, I wasn't trying to do the carbs from the previous poster. Sorry if I confused anyone beside myself LOL. Anyway, on another note I put the same information into the hidden carb counter and checked off beverage it gives me 2.53 after subtracting the fiber and 6.53 w/o subtracting the fiber. What's the weight by difference for?
Thanks again - sorry to be a pain,
Alli

Steel's Replied to my email!!
 

WOW! Steel's has replied to my email concerning this matter. To reply in only 1 business day and NOT have it be a typical "canned response", is impressive indeed.

Here is a copy of the original email with their response:

Quote:

----- Original Message ----- From: "[edited for privacy]" <[edited for privacy]~voyager.net> To: <info~steelsgourmet.com> Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2004 5:33 PM Subject: Question about your Low-Carb claim on your Cocktail Sauce Hello, I recently received a new bottle of you truly wonderful tasting "Cocktail Sauce w/ Dill and Lemon" in the mail. I really enjoyed this stuff! But my concern has to do with the carb count you so proudly claim. You boldly state that the sauce has "less than 2 grams of carbohydrate per serving". If you run the Nutrition label you provide through the readily accepted nutrition formula of: (Per Serving) Total Calories = 9(listed fat grams) + 4(listed protein grams) + 4(listed carb grams) The end result works out to around 8 carbs per serving!! This is vastly different than your claim of 2 carbs and, if true, would seriously bring into question your claim of being a low carb sauce. Could you please take the time to explain to me how you arrive at your claim of 2 carbs per serving? I am following a restricted carb diet and having the correct information will greatly aid me in following my plan correctly. I have also posted a message about this on the "Active Low-Carber Forums". This a heavily visited messageboard with many low-carb eaters. I am sure they would also appreciate any response you could offer to clear this up. The thread I created on this is located at: http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?p=1810836#post1810836 Thank you. I look forward to your reply. Sincerely, [edited for privacy] Their response: Hi [edited for privacy]: Thank you for sharing your observations about the Cocktail Sauce and its nutritional information. I have passed this information on to the President of Steel's, Betty Jo Steel. I hope she will get back to you shortly. She has a busy traveling schedule this week and I'm not sure she'll have access to her email. Steel's has been in business over 16 years and all products are tested and analized by a laboratory who provides us with this information. There is no intent whatsoever to mislead or print inaccurate information. We rely on the lab to be accurate. On occassion there are typos on our labels that we correct as soon as it is noted. I recently joined Steel's and have found several errors made by the labeling co. Without the due diligent observations such as yours, we cannot make the necessary changes so I apprecite your email. So, until you receive a response, I just wanted to let you know that we care about your concern and will get back to you as soon as we can. (I have attached our product information so you can see it at a glance rather trying to wade through our web-site which is scheduled to have a face-list within a month or so. To find a store near you please call one of our distributors who might service your area). Margareta Williams Sales & Marketing margareta~steelsgourmet.com 1-800-6-STEELS

Well, looks like they are aware that this might be a recurrent issue for them. When I receive more information, I will yet you know.

JFF:D

Wow! An ongoing problem with "errored labeling" , kind of scary don't you think? Although, and 8 and a 2 don't really resemble eachother if you ask me LOL! At least you got a response.

Alli

Add to what sharann suggested that labels sometimes pre-subtract the fiber. So the one gram of carbs they show may be for the sugar only (having subtracted the .5 fiber the carbs are then below 1 which means they can label it as 0).
Its enough to make you scream....and not believe anything on any label! We use a bunch of the Stleel's products (ketchup, bbq sauce, jams) because they are GOOD. Now I am going to wonder about all of them. I hope the company gets back to you with an answer.