SpaghettiOs facts for kids
Logo as of 1995[update]
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Opened can of SpaghettiOs
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| Owner | Campbell's |
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| Introduced | 1965 |
SpaghettiOs is a popular American brand of canned pasta. It features small, ring-shaped pasta pieces in a tasty tomato sauce. This food is often marketed to parents as being "less messy" than regular spaghetti.
Each year, over 150 million cans of SpaghettiOs are sold. You can find them in plain tomato sauce or with extra ingredients. Some versions include meatballs, slices of processed meat (like hot dogs), or beef-filled ravioli. There are even versions with added calcium to make them more nutritious.
While "SpaghettiOs" is a specific brand name, similar canned ring-shaped pasta dishes are sold in many countries. They might be called 'spaghetti hoops,' 'spaghetti loops,' or 'spaghetti rings.'
Contents
History of SpaghettiOs
Before SpaghettiOs, canned spaghetti with short lengths in tomato sauce was already available. However, the idea for ring-shaped canned pasta came about in 1965. The Campbell Soup Company introduced it under their Franco-American brand.
The person behind this idea was marketing manager Donald Goerke. He was even nicknamed "the Daddy-O of SpaghettiOs." His goal was to create a pasta dish that was easy to eat without making a mess. Before settling on rings, other fun shapes were considered, like cowboys, astronauts, stars, and sports themes.
SpaghettiOs were launched across the country without being tested in small markets first. Television ads used the catchy phrase "the neat round spaghetti you can eat with a spoon." A famous jingle also helped make the brand popular: "Uh-Oh! SpaghettiOs." Other companies quickly started making their own versions of spaghetti hoops.
In 2023, Campbell's launched Spicy Original SpaghettiOs featuring Frank's RedHot. This new flavor was made to appeal to adults who grew up eating the original. However, many people didn't like the spicy version very much.
What's in SpaghettiOs?
The main ingredients in SpaghettiOs Original are water and tomato puree. The pasta itself is made from wheat flour and has added vitamins like niacin and folic acid. It also contains high-fructose corn syrup, salt, and a small amount of cheese.
Other ingredients include vegetable oil, butter, skim milk, and natural colorings. If you have allergies, it's good to know that SpaghettiOs Original contains wheat and milk.
Important Issues
Product Recalls
Sometimes, food products need to be recalled to keep people safe. In June 2010, Campbell's recalled a large amount of SpaghettiOs with Meatballs. This happened because a cooker at one of their factories in Texas wasn't working correctly.
About 15 million pounds of the product were recalled. Luckily, there were no reports of anyone getting sick from the product. The company acted quickly to make sure consumers were safe.
Social Media Lesson
On December 7, 2013, the 72nd anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, SpaghettiOs' Twitter account posted a picture. It showed a smiling cartoon SpaghettiO holding the U.S. flag. The caption said, "Take a moment to remember #PearlHarbor with us."
Many people felt this tweet was disrespectful to the serious event it was meant to remember. The post quickly caused a lot of discussion online. SpaghettiOs soon removed the tweet and apologized for any offense it caused. This event showed how important it is for brands to be very careful with their social media posts, especially when talking about sensitive historical events.
See also
Images for kids
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SpaghettiOs brand logo
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An opened can of SpaghettiOs
