Taco Seasoning

Food · Pantry & Condiment · Food, Typed Supps

A spice mix that is mostly salt and sugar, sold as spice.

Stage by stage

Salt first (Taste): What reads as "seasoned" is mostly the salt, not the spices in the mix.
Hidden sugar (Stomach): 28.5 g per 100 g in a savoury product, 11.2 g of it added.
Sodium load (Circulation): A 30 g sachet is around 1,900 mg — close to a whole day in one meal.
Some carotenoid (Gut): 1,400 mcg of beta-carotene per 100 g from the paprika, which is genuine.

Timing

Nothing to time. Half the sachet plus your own cumin and paprika is the change that actually gets kept.

Time to effect

2–4 weeks: Blood pressure response to reduced sodium.
Per sachet: Around 1,900 mg sodium and 8 g sugar.

Allergens

None of the fourteen major allergens. May contain: Celery, Gluten, Milk, Mustard. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher. Depends on the product: Low-FODMAP, Gluten-free.

Satiety

Not scored: the satiety index is measured on 240 kcal servings, and nobody eats a 240 kcal serving of this. The question does not apply rather than the answer being unknown.

Cost band

Mid — roughly £5 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Sodium
Sugar
Beta-carotene

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 319
Protein: 6.2g
Carbohydrate: 58.1g
of which sugars: 28.5g
Fat: 4.8g
of which saturated: 1.3g
Fibre: 8.7g
Sodium: 6238mg

Food vs. supplement

Curry powder and taco seasoning sit side by side in the same aisle at 52 mg and 6,238 mg of sodium per 100 g. Both are spice blends; only one has been formulated around salt, and nothing on the front of either packet tells you which.

Kitchen tip

Cumin, paprika, oregano, garlic powder, chilli. That is the sachet, minus 1,900 mg of sodium and 8 g of sugar.

Common myth

“It’s a spice mix, so it’s just spices.” In reality: Salt, sugar and starch make up most of the packet by weight; the spices are the minority. At 6,238 mg of sodium per 100 g it is about 120 times saltier than plain curry powder, and there are 28.5 g of sugar per 100 g in a savoury product. Mixing your own from cumin, paprika, oregano and chilli takes a minute and removes nearly all of both.