Oreo vs Newman-O's: Only Oreo Lists HFCS, Artificial Flavor

Yes: only OREO lists high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavor. Newman-O's Original lists organic sugar, organic invert syrup and natural flavors instead, and carries an Oregon Tilth organic certification.

OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies and Newman-O's Original differ most on the ingredient list. The Stop & Shop OREO listing names high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavor. The Stop & Shop Newman-O's listing names natural flavors and organic ingredients, and the maker's product page says the product is free from high fructose corn syrup. The per-serving numbers also differ, but the serving sizes do not match (3 OREO cookies, 34 g, versus 2 Newman-O's, 27 g), so compare per cookie or per gram before drawing conclusions.

Key takeaways

• The listed ingredients for OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies include high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavor. The Newman-O's Original ingredient list has no high fructose corn syrup and uses natural flavors.
• Serving sizes differ (3 OREO cookies, 34 g, versus 2 Newman-O's, 27 g), so per-cookie or per-gram values are fairer than the raw per-serving numbers.
• Per labeled serving, OREO lists 130 mg sodium (3 cookies) and 13 g added sugar (3 cookies). Newman-O's lists 95 mg sodium (2 cookies) and 10 g added sugar (2 cookies). Open Food Facts reports slightly different Newman-O's values.
• Newman-O's labels organic sugar and organic flour and carries an Oregon Tilth organic certification. The OREO listing shown here makes no organic claim.

Do OREO and Newman-O's Original Contain High Fructose Corn Syrup?

OREO's listed ingredients include high fructose corn syrup. Newman-O's Original does not list it, and the maker's product page describes the cookie as free from high fructose corn syrup.

The OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies 18.12 oz ingredient list reads, in part, 'Sugar, Palm Oil, Soybean And/or Canola Oil, Cocoa (Processed With Alkali), High Fructose Corn Syrup, Leavening (Baking Soda And/or Calcium Phosphate), Salt, Soy Lecithin, Chocolate, Artificial Flavor' (Stop & Shop listing). The Open Food Facts entry for UPC 0044000060237 lists the same high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavor.

The Newman-O's Original ingredient list uses different sweeteners: organic sugar, organic powdered sugar (organic sugar and organic cornstarch), and organic invert syrup. None of these is named high fructose corn syrup on the listed panel.

Do OREO cookies have high fructose corn syrup?

Yes. The OREO ingredient list names high fructose corn syrup (Stop & Shop listing, 18.12 oz family size), and the Open Food Facts entry repeats it.

What is high fructose corn syrup made from?

High fructose corn syrup is derived from corn starch, according to the FDA's questions and answers on high fructose corn syrup. The most common forms contain 42 or 55 percent fructose (21 CFR 184.1866), and the proportion of fructose to glucose in these forms is similar to that of sucrose.

The FDA material does not establish that high fructose corn syrup affects health differently from sugar, and this article does not claim that it does.

Is Artificial Flavor in OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, and Is Newman-O's Free of It?

OREO's ingredient list includes artificial flavor. The Newman-O's Original ingredient list includes natural flavors and does not list artificial flavor.

The ingredient name on the panel is the main place a shopper sees how flavor is listed. The OREO panel names 'Artificial Flavor' as a separate ingredient. The Newman-O's panel names 'Natural Flavors.' The Nutrition Facts panel does not break down which flavor compounds are used in either product.

Are Newman-O's Cookies Organic, and Does OREO's Label Claim Organic?

Newman-O's Original carries the statement 'Certified Organic by Oregon Tilth,' and its ingredient list names organic unbleached wheat flour, organic sugar and organic palm fruit oil. The OREO listing shown here makes no organic claim.

The Newman-O's ingredient list also includes sunflower oil (expeller pressed) and organic invert syrup. The Open Food Facts entry for UPC 0757645021401 prints 'PALM OIL', while the retailer panel reads 'Organic Palm Fruit Oil.'

OREO's ingredients include unbleached enriched flour, sugar, palm oil, soybean and/or canola oil and high fructose corn syrup, with no organic designation on the listing shown here. Organic labeling describes how ingredients are grown and handled. It does not change the sugar, sodium or calorie figures on the Nutrition Facts panel. Vegan and dairy-free status is not addressed in this comparison.

How Much Sugar Is in OREO vs Newman-O's Original per Serving?

Per labeled serving, OREO lists 13 g added sugar (26% DV) for 3 cookies, and Newman-O's lists 10 g added sugar (20% DV) for 2 cookies. Total sugar is 14 g for OREO and 10 g for Newman-O's.

The FDA Daily Value for added sugars is 50 grams per day, so the labeled percentages reflect that reference. For a per-cookie view, OREO's 13 g across 3 cookies works out to about 4.3 g of added sugar per cookie, and Newman-O's 10 g across 2 cookies works out to 5 g per cookie. These figures are simple arithmetic from the labeled serving sizes.

For a per-gram view, OREO's 13 g added sugar over 34 g is about 0.38 g per gram, and Newman-O's 10 g over 27 g is about 0.37 g per gram. The Open Food Facts entry for Newman-O's lists 11 g sugars for its serving, which differs from the 10 g on the retailer panel.

For another side-by-side added sugar comparison of a different snack pair, see Which Has More Sugar, Tate's or Chips Ahoy? Tate's Does.

How Much Sodium Is in OREO vs Newman-O's Original per Serving?

OREO lists 130 mg sodium (6% DV) per 3 cookies, and Newman-O's lists 95 mg sodium (4% DV) per 2 cookies. The Open Food Facts entry for Newman-O's shows about 112 mg sodium for its serving, which is higher than the retailer panel.

Per cookie, OREO's 130 mg across 3 cookies is about 43 mg, and Newman-O's 95 mg across 2 cookies is about 47.5 mg. Per gram, OREO's 130 mg over 34 g is about 3.8 mg per gram, and Newman-O's 95 mg over 27 g is about 3.5 mg per gram.

The sodium sources named on the lists differ in form. OREO lists salt and leavening (baking soda and/or calcium phosphate). Newman-O's lists salt and sodium bicarbonate. People who track sodium may find the % DV line and the milligram count per cookie more useful than the per-serving figure alone.

For a sodium comparison of two other snacks, see Which Has More Sodium, Goldfish or Annie's Bunnies?.

Why Do the Serving Sizes Differ, and How Do You Compare Them Fairly?

The two products use different serving sizes: 3 OREO cookies (34 g) versus 2 Newman-O's (27 g). Because the serving sizes differ, the raw per-serving numbers are not directly comparable.

Label item	OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies	Newman-O's Original
Package size	18.12 oz family size	13 oz
Servings per container	About 15	13
Labeled serving	3 cookies	2 cookies
Serving weight (Open Food Facts)	34 g	27 g
Calories	160 (about 53 per cookie)	130 (about 65 per cookie)
Total fat	7 g (9% DV)	5 g (6% DV)
Saturated fat	2 g (10% DV)	1.5 g (8% DV)
Sodium	130 mg (6% DV)	95 mg (4% DV)
Total carbohydrates	25 g (9% DV)	19 g (7% DV)
Dietary fiber	Not listed	1 g (4% DV)
Total sugar	14 g	10 g
Added sugar	13 g (26% DV)	10 g (20% DV)
Protein	1 g	1 g
Calcium	10 mg	5 mg
Iron	1 mg (8% DV)	1 mg (6% DV)
Potassium	50 mg	35 mg
Ingredient flags	High fructose corn syrup, artificial flavor, bioengineered ingredient note	Organic ingredients, natural flavors, no high fructose corn syrup per maker

A fair comparison starts with the same unit. Compare per cookie, per gram, or the % DV line, and check whether a figure comes from the package you are holding or from an online listing. The Open Food Facts entry for Newman-O's lists different sugar and sodium values from the retailer panel, so differences of this size can appear across sources.

Which Label Details Should Shoppers Check on Their Own Package?

Check the ingredient list, the serving size line, the added sugar line and the sodium line on the package you are holding. Formulations and online listings can differ, and the figures in this article come from retailer listings and Open Food Facts entries, so they may not match the package in your hand.

• Serving size and servings per container, including the gram weight if printed
• Ingredient names for high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavor and natural flavors
• Organic seal or statement, and which ingredients it covers
• Added sugar in grams and % DV, not only total sugar
• Sodium in milligrams and % DV, calculated per cookie if the serving is small
• Bioengineered food disclosure, if present; the OREO listing notes a bioengineered food ingredient without naming which ingredient it is
• Allergen statement, such as the wheat and soy statements on both listings

The same checklist can be applied to other packaged snacks, which helps when comparing products with different serving sizes. For another OREO label comparison, see Oreo vs Chips Ahoy: Which Has More Sugar? 14 g vs 10 g.