Cheese Nips...Cheez-Its...and kids...

My son, age 7, is a major Angry Birds fan. A friend of the family, and fellow Angry Birds fan, gave him a box of Angry Birds Cheese Nips.

Fully prepared to put this on the "Not for Jessica" Shelf in our pantry next to the Cheez-Its (which have TBHQ for freshness in them), I read the ingredients:

Unbleached Enriched Four (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate {Vitamin B1}, Riboflavin {Vitamin B2}, Folic Acid), Soybean Oil, Cheddar Cheese (Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes), Tapioca Dextrin, Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil, Salt, Autolyzed Yeast Extract (Contains Barley), Calcium Carbonate (Natural Source of Calcium), Leavening (Calcium Phosphate And/Or Yeast), Annatto Extract (Vegetable Color), Natural Flavor. Contains: Wheat, Milk.

WOW! Nothing from "the No List"! Jess can eat these! Cool!!

...but this gets me to thinking: Why do Cheez-Its have TBHQ in them and not Cheese Nips?? ...and then the  thinking gets me to searching...and the searching gets me to reading...

I arrive at Nabisco's website and because they don't have the exact product listing for specifically the Angry Birds Cheese Its, I find the original Cheese Nips Baked Snack Crackers and read:

Unbleached Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid), Soybean Oil, Cheddar Cheese (Cultured Milk, Salt and Enzymes), Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil, Salt, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Leavening (Calcium Phosphate and/or Yeast), Monosodium Glutamate (Flavor Enhancer), Paprika, Annatto Extract (Vegetable Color), Sodium Caseinate, Spice, Lactic Acid, Acetic Acid.

 OH NO!!! MSG is in Cheese Nips?!?!! But wait...it's not listed on this box of Angry Birds Cheese Nips. What the...?!?!

I keep reading. I find the SpongeBob Cheese Nips, the Spider Man Cheese Nips and the Cheese Nips Tid-Bits all share the same ingredients...none of which includes MSG. But the Original Cheese Nips, the Four Cheese Cheese Nips and the Reduced Fat Cheese Nips all have MSG in them.

Interesting I say! It strikes me as rather odd that the Cheese Nips that are marketed towards children, do not include this controversial ingredient...but all the others do.

It makes me wonder why, Nabisco...it makes me wonder: Why?! ... oh yeah ... and it all makes me wonder why you need TBHQ in your Cheez-Its, Kellogg...it makes me wonder: Why?!