UNDATED (WKRC) – A TikTok video that highlighted an ingredient comparison between Planters’ dry roasted peanuts salted and then its lightly salted version has gone viral.
Vanessa Stevs, a physician assistant student known on TikTok as @ness.stevs, shared the video after her mother discovered the difference during a grocery shopping trip.
“Watch and learn — Salted right?” Stevs’ mother said in the video, flipping over a container of Planters dry roasted salted peanuts. She pointed out ingredients in the salted version: sugar, cornstarch, corn syrup, honey, peanut oil, fructose, dried red chili peppers, natural flavor, paprika extract (color) and xanthan gum.
In contrast, the lightly salted peanuts contained only peanuts and sea salt. “This goes in the cart,” she concluded, opting for the simpler ingredient list.
Viewers expressed gratitude for the comparison and said they never knew the difference in the ingredients between the two products.
According to Planters’ website, their dry roasted lightly salted peanuts are cooked without oil and only seasoned with “a touch” of sea salt. The original dry-roasted peanuts, however, contain additional seasonings to enhance the nutty flavor.
Nut experts at Nuturally noted that conventional salted nut products often include additives like salt, sugar and fat to compensate for lost natural properties and flavors during processing.