Does Stove Top Have MSG? Yes; Pepperidge Farm Doesn't

Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken and Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing differ most on their ingredient lists. Yes, Stove Top has MSG: the Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken ingredient list names monosodium glutamate, puts high fructose corn syrup second, and adds BHA and BHT, and none of those appear in the Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned ingredient list. On sodium and added sugar the two labels are close, at 390 mg and 410 mg of sodium per serving and 2 g of added sugar in each. This page sets the label facts side by side and leaves the choice to you.

Label fact	Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken	Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing
Serving on label	1/6 box (28 g), makes 1/2 cup	1/2 cup dry (29 g)
Calories	110	110
Sodium	390 mg (17% DV)	410 mg (18% DV, retailer listing)
Added sugar	2 g (3% DV)	2 g added sugars (4% DV, retailer listing)
Iron	1.3 mg (8% DV)	1.4 mg (8% DV, retailer listing)
Protein	3 g	2 g
Second ingredient	High fructose corn syrup	Whole wheat flour
MSG	Listed	Not listed
BHA and BHT	Listed	Not listed
Hydrolyzed soy protein, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate	Listed	Not listed

Key takeaways

• Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken (UPC 00043000285213) lists high fructose corn syrup second, and also lists MSG, hydrolyzed soy protein, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, BHA, and BHT.
• Neither Pepperidge Farm ingredient list quoted here includes MSG, high fructose corn syrup, BHA, BHT, hydrolyzed soy protein, disodium guanylate, or disodium inosinate.
• Per serving, Stove Top has 390 mg sodium and Pepperidge Farm has 410 mg, with different serving sizes.
• Stove Top lists BHA and BHT as preservatives alongside rosemary extract; Pepperidge Farm lists calcium propionate, rosemary extract and ascorbic acid instead.
• Formulations can change, so check the package you buy for these ingredients and numbers.

Is Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing free of MSG, HFCS, and BHA/BHT?

Yes, the ingredient lists quoted for Pepperidge Farm do not include monosodium glutamate, high fructose corn syrup, BHA, or BHT. The two sources for the Pepperidge Farm list, Open Food Facts and a Brookshire's retailer listing for the same UPC (0014100050728), match on these points.

What are the ingredients in Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Classic Stuffing?

The Open Food Facts ingredient text begins with enriched wheat flour, then whole wheat flour, salt, and sugar. The rest of the list, which contains 2% or less of the mix, includes:

• Yeast and vegetable oils (canola and/or sunflower and/or palm)
• Molasses, spices, celery, and onion powder
• Calcium propionate, which the label says is included to extend freshness
• Rosemary extract and ascorbic acid, which the label says protect flavor
• Malted barley flour and soy lecithin

The retailer listing wording differs slightly, for example by naming only canola and/or palm oils. Neither version includes the Stove Top additives named above.

How do the two stuffing mixes compare on sodium per serving?

Stove Top has 390 mg of sodium per 1/6 box serving (28 g), which is 17% DV on its label. Pepperidge Farm has 410 mg per 1/2 cup dry serving (29 g), which is 18% DV on the retailer listing.

FDA sets the Daily Value for sodium at less than 2,300 mg per day. FDA classifies 5% DV or less per serving as low and 20% DV or more as high, so both products fall between those thresholds. FDA also advises checking serving size when comparing products, and the two serving sizes here are slightly different.

Neither label shows sodium after the stuffing is prepared with butter or water, and that value was not disclosed in the sources reviewed here.

How much added sugar is in Stove Top versus Pepperidge Farm stuffing?

Stove Top lists 2 g of added sugar per serving, which is 3% DV. The Pepperidge Farm retailer listing shows 2 g of added sugars, which is 4% DV, while the Open Food Facts entry lists 2 g of total sugars.

FDA sets the Daily Value for added sugars at 50 grams per day. Both products therefore show a small percentage of that amount per serving.

Sugar sources differ in the ingredient lists. Stove Top lists high fructose corn syrup second and sugar later in the list. Pepperidge Farm lists sugar fourth, after two wheat flours and salt, and also lists molasses. Ingredient order reflects weight, so the sweetener positions are useful context for label reading.

Does Stove Top Have MSG? Yes, Listed by Name

Yes. Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken lists monosodium glutamate, a flavor ingredient, by name; the Pepperidge Farm list does not. FDA says foods containing added MSG must list it in the ingredient panel as 'monosodium glutamate', which is how it appears on the Stove Top label.

Free glutamate also occurs naturally in some ingredients, including hydrolyzed vegetable protein, yeast extract, and soy extracts. FDA says foods with those ingredients cannot claim 'No MSG' or 'No added MSG'. The Stove Top list includes hydrolyzed soy protein and yeast, while the Pepperidge Farm list includes yeast but not hydrolyzed soy protein or yeast extract by name.

Why Kraft Heinz uses MSG in this product was not disclosed, and the label does not say how much it contains. For more on the ingredient itself, see Is MSG (Monosodium Glutamate, E621) Safe? Uses and Labels.

What is high fructose corn syrup doing in Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken?

High fructose corn syrup is the second ingredient on the Stove Top label, listed after enriched wheat flour. It is not in the Pepperidge Farm ingredient list quoted here.

The label does not explain the purpose of this ingredient in the stuffing mix, and the reason Kraft Heinz uses it was not disclosed. Stove Top also lists sugar further down the ingredient list.

Does Stove Top Have BHA and BHT? Yes, as Preservatives

Yes. The Stove Top ingredient list ends 'with BHA, BHT and rosemary extract as preservatives'. The amount of BHA or BHT in the mix is not disclosed on the label, and this article makes no health-effect claims for either preservative.

Pepperidge Farm's ingredient list uses rosemary extract, calcium propionate, and ascorbic acid, and does not list BHA or BHT.

Who should be more cautious with MSG, HFCS, BHA/BHT, sodium, or added sugar?

People who have been advised by a clinician to limit sodium or added sugar can compare the Nutrition Facts panel on each package with that guidance. The 390 mg and 410 mg figures are per serving, so the number of servings a person eats matters.

Both ingredient lists include wheat. Stove Top lists soy on its allergen statement, and the Pepperidge Farm ingredient text quoted here lists soy lecithin, so anyone with a wheat or soy sensitivity should read the allergen statement on the package they buy.

The sources used here do not study these specific stuffing mixes in people with particular health conditions, so no population-level conclusion is drawn.

How do you spot these ingredients on a stuffing mix label?

Ingredients are listed in order of predominance by weight, so the position of a sweetener or flavor tells you how much of the mix it makes up. Use the list below as a checklist:

• Monosodium glutamate, which must be named this way when added
• High fructose corn syrup, usually listed near the top of the ingredient list
• BHA and BHT, usually named in a phrase such as 'with BHA, BHT and rosemary extract as preservatives'
• Disodium guanylate and disodium inosinate, which are flavor enhancers
• Hydrolyzed soy protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and yeast extract, which can carry free glutamate
• Sodium and added sugars on the Nutrition Facts panel, checked against the serving size and % DV

The FDA Nutrition Facts guidance on sodium and added sugars is useful for reading these numbers.

Which other ingredient differences show up when comparing the two ingredient lists?

The two lists share enriched wheat flour, salt, sugar, yeast, celery, onion, spices, and rosemary extract. The differences are in the rest of the list.

• Stove Top only: high fructose corn syrup, MSG, hydrolyzed soy protein, cooked chicken, chicken broth, maltodextrin, potassium chloride, turmeric color, silicon dioxide, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, natural flavor, interesterified soybean oil, BHA, and BHT
• Pepperidge Farm only: whole wheat flour, molasses, malted barley flour, calcium propionate, ascorbic acid, and soy lecithin

For more on the two preservatives that differ most, see What Is Butylated Hydroxyanisole? Uses, Labels, and Safety and Calcium Propionate: The Bread Mold Inhibitor, Explained. Product formulations can change, and the lists quoted here may not match the package in your store, so check the current label before you buy.

Related reading: Jarred gravy is the other Thanksgiving side with a wheat question; Is Heinz Gravy Healthier Than McCormick? 250mg vs 280mg compares sodium per 1/4 cup and which label declares wheat and milk.